A question I have asked and seen asked so many times, “How can I help my child with their homework?”.  I have paired up with a girls school in Surrey to help answer our questions!

Why do children need homework?

Depending on your children’s age homework can sometimes feel like a task.  Something extra that you are forcing upon them after a long day at School. I am sure most of us parents have asked ourselves the question ‘is this homework beneficial?’ before.  Well studies show that it is worth every minute and that we should all be doing our best to encourage our children.

Homework is a great way to develop responsibilities and self-motivation from a young age. It helps parents become more involved with their children’s learning.  Plus it you can really get an idea of their academic strengths and weaknesses.

Completing work at home is also a great way to test the knowledge of students outside of the classroom. It’s all well and good a child sitting through a day of lessons and keeping their head down without answering any direct questions.  But being asked to complete work at home can help the teacher see who might need more support with certain subjects. When it’s thoughtfully assigned, homework provides deeper engagement with material introduced in class.

Making time for homework and study can also help prepare children for exam prep and coursework that will come later down the line. It will lay the foundations to excel in the classroom and outside of it.

So how can I help my children with their homework?

The ways that you can help your children prepare for and do well in their home assignments are endless. From creating timetables to turning the TV off there is something everyone can do to help.

Get organised

Structure and organisation is vital if you want your child to do their very best at school. Put together a study timetable and make sure you know what homework is due and when the deadlines are.  It’s very easy to leave it to the last minute but this just adds more stress and anxiety on the night before its due. Once your child successfully completes their designated homework time, be sure to reward them for their efforts because praise is a great motivator for kids.

Introduce some fun

Not everything needs to be so serious! Many children hate doing homework and can develop a negative attitude towards homework time if it’s always boring and hard work. However with the right attitude and motivation from their parents, children will find that doing homework can actually be fun sometimes. Invite a study buddy over and introduce some quizzes, competitions and games to the routine. Maybe a sticker chart or reward structure could work well for your family!

Be involved & interested

One of the main ways that you can help your children with their homework is simply to be more involved and interested. Children of any age love to have one on one time with their parents.  They would benefit greatly from you sitting with them at homework time and working together. Not only will you get to spend some quality time and help your children with their school work you will also have more of an insight to what they are learning at school.