11 Tips To Help Maltese Parents Reduce Homework Stress
Homework time can easily become a daily struggle and cause anxiety for yourself as a parent and for your child, especially at the beginning of a new school year. Daily battles to finish tasks are routine in many households.
Don’t let homework time become the worst part of your day; turn it into a positive learning experience. Homework stress can lead to not being able to retain or learn information which affects academic performance. It can also lead to frustration and arguments between you and your child.
1. Create a schedule and stick to it!
Create a visual schedule for all the family to help your child plan out their time after school. Schedule time for homework, chores, extra-curricular activities, exercise, play and dinner.
2. Give structured times for breaks in between tasks
If your child concentrates more with movement – let them move! Making your child sit still will not help reduce their stress levels or concentrate more; have fidgets ready if you need them.
3. Get organised
Homework should be carried out in a neat, clean, organised space. Make sure all the resources needed for homework are there and keep a pen pot or an extra pencil case close by.
4. Good time management
If your child has activities after school, make sure there is enough time for homework and to relax too. If you as a parent struggle managing daily tasks, this will inevitably stress your child, who will have to squeeze their page-long maths work into the 15 minutes between ballet and swimming.
5. Have time to relax
Your child would need a break as a way of letting off steam or extra energy built up throughout the day. Don’t force your child to do their homework as soon as they get home; it will take them twice as long to finish the task. (This is much like you coming home from a hard day at work and having to switch on your laptop for another hour or two!) If you can find an activity to relax together, then it‘s a bonus!
6. Listen to your child
Subject material, concepts and methods have changed over the years. If you are unsure – ask the teacher! It’s OK not to know all the answers.
7. Know when to walk away
If you’re getting frustrated with your child, walk away! It’s OK to take a breather and remove yourself from the HW desk. If need be, ask your child to take a short break and get back to it later. This way you can both come back to the task with a clear mind and better focus.
9. Give your child positive reinforcement
Children need to build their confidence and know they can do the work that has been assigned. Make them feel good about getting answers correct or even just for trying! Don’t hold back from praising your child for the little things too!
10. Do not do the work yourselves
In this fast-paced life, we all need to get the kids to the next activity or start cooking dinner and this may seem like the easy option, but what will your child gain from that? Homework is an opportunity to revise topics learnt during the day and if your child is not coping let the teacher know. Support can still be given in the form of prompting, the occasional re-explanation and paired reading for longer texts.
11. Have a healthy snack
Memory, learning ability and our emotions are all affected by what we eat and you definitely can’t concentrate on an empty stomach.
Go ahead and share any other tips you’ve found helpful at HW time!
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