How to Help with Homework Without Getting Involved

How to Help with Homework Without Getting Involved

8th Oct 2015

How to Help with Homework Without Getting Involved Learning new things and deadlines are a huge part of life and homework gets our children ready for those challenges. As a parent, we just hate to see our young one on the eve before a big math test struggling with their studies.

It’s especially difficult for us when we don’t remember how to divide fractions ourselves. If you are one of the few parents that remember trigonometry, you may be tempted to help them do their homework by practically doing it for them. As you can imagine, this doesn’t help them grasp the material.

So how can we intervene without fully taking over? Here are a few tips.

1. Form a routine

Simply having a time and place for children to complete their homework is more helpful than you think. It’s a good idea to let your child have a small snack when they arrive home from school and go into completing homework straight away rather than taking time to watch TV and get distracted. Often times, getting started with your homework is the hardest part for children. Being consistent with your routine will encourage them to get started at certain time every day. Enforcing a routine is plenty help to your child.

2. Edit and check work

Instead of babysitting your child while he constructs his essay or solves his math problems, become the checker instead. Ask your child why he chose to solve problems a certain way and give suggestions on how he can improve things. This allows your child to feel like you are involved but doesn’t make them feel like they need you to complete the tasks.

3. Play Teacher

In many cases, kids don’t have enough time in class to fully learn and process material. So when they come home they can benefit from going over how to solve certain problems or recapping lectures before jumping into the tasks at hand. This does increase the time a child spends on their homework but it’s worth it in the long run. You can try having your child teach you the lessons from class. Being able to teach information is a great way to show that you understand it.

5. Move at a slow and steady pace

Rushing through homework you understand but your child doesn’t is setting your child up to not understand the material. Take the time to read the directions with your child out loud and assess the meaning of them together. Sometimes going so slowly will make your child want to get through the material faster and push them to complete it on their own.

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Written by Alicia Overby - Founder & President of Baby Elephant Ears

Alicia is wife, mother, and creator of Baby Elephant Ears. Baby Elephant Ears was created out of parental concern, not financial desire. In 2005, when their second child was an infant, he cried all the time and just couldn't seem to get comfortable.

After seeking advice and suggestion from the medical community and alternative medicine, they eventually ended up in the chiropractors office where their baby was successfully treated for asubluxation, discomfort most likely the result of the strain during labor, which was now being exacerbated by the normal lack of infant neck strength. Only proper neck, head, and back alignment would offer him relief. When they couldn't find a product to give their baby the necessary support, Alicia took matters into her own hands and crafted her own infant support pillow. The first Baby Elephant Ears was born!

For more information, visit www.babyelephantears.com.

Interested in writing a guest blog for Baby Elephant Ears? Send your topic idea to pr@babyelephantears.com.

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