Homework Help: Success Tips from Radical Parenting
Read this advice from Vanessa Van Petten, a youthologist and author of “You’re Grounded!” How to Stop Fighting and Make the Teenage Years Easier. Check out more of her advice on her site, Radical Parenting.
There were two kinds of homework battles in my house (if you ask my younger sisters I think there still are). First, getting us to sit down and actually start working. Second, the frustration that set in when we were asking our parents for help and they either didn’t know the answer or we argued on the best way to do it. Parents often ask me how for tips on how to avoid homework time from devolving into huge arguments or undone assignments.
1. Know what the teacher wants.
Every teacher has a different homework policy. Some teachers ask that parents not help with homework so that they know when kids do not understand something. Others want homework to be a family activity. Make sure you are on the same page with the teacher.
2. Get clear on guidelines.
Can homework be written in both pen and pencil? How about red pen? How about crayons (in my brother’s case)? Also asking how homework should be turned in (is it supposed to be in a specific folder or signed by a parent when completed or submitted via email at a certain time) is very important and will avoid the small arguments later.