Lisa @ School Family writes: Wish there was one, right answer but it all depends on the individual child, the family schedule, and the day-to-day homework load. A couple of things to consider: Does your child need to get out and exercise before he can concentrate? Is he in the right amount of activities, i.e. not starting homework at 8pm? Is he revived after eating dinner, or has he lost steam? Ask your son when he thinks he does his best work. The key is to help your child develop solid homework habits and get the message across that homework cannot be an afterthought. Also, when your child is younger, it’s good to check in on a daily basis and ask them to estimate how long they think the homework will take. Even if they are wrong, they are beginning to learn the skill of time management—so as they get older they can make good decisions about the best time to do their homework. Interested in hearing from other community members on how they manage homework!
Community Advice
arlene writes: This is what works for me. When I pick up my son from school I ask him all the wonderful questions on the way home like how was your day, what was the best thing that happen today and did you have any problems, how did you fix them etc... Then I ask him do you have any homework and how much. In his mind its all about him however in my mind im trying to figure out how much time i need to give him for his homework and what time should i start. Keeping in mind of all of his extra stuff like drums class, martial arts and bible study. I normally give him a snack when we get home and shorthly after that (no more than 1 hour) thats when he starts on his homework and I start cooking dinner. This works best for me because he is in the dinning room and im in the kitchen. We can see each other the whole time and we are both working and if he needs help im right there. But far enough away to give him the space he needs to make it seem like he is doing it all by himself.
