Is your child whining a lot nowadays while trying to do their homework? Are they constantly complaining about how they can’t do it on their own? Is your child always looking at ways to avoid homework? Are you fed up of handling your child’s nuisances? Well, it’s not the kid’s fault. There might be something wrong with the environment at home which irritates your child and diverts their attention.
To enable your kid to work at their optimum best at home while doing their homework, you need to ensure that the environment at home is homework friendly and will allow your child to work in peace.
What is meant by ’homework friendly environment’?
The term ‘homework friendly environment’ denotes the presence of a workspace which allows your child to be productive and complete their homework without much problem. It has been seen in many homes, that a kid is unable to work because the space provided isn’t suited to their needs.
For example, they might not have the resources at hand and have get up quite often to find out things which pertain to the lesson and waste time in such practices. Moreover, in some cases, the kids are unable to work because of too much noise or because of the presence of too many distractions which hinder them from studying.
Thus, it is essential that in order to make the kids successfully complete their homework and not ask questions like why do homework at all, it is necessary to introduce an environment at home which supports learning. So how can you judge if you have the right environment at home you ask? Well, if you say yes to most of the things stated below, then you have nothing to worry about!
Break it down
Does your child feel burdened with the amount of task at hand? Well, break it down into small portions. After enduring long hours at school, no child will be enthusiastic about completing loads of homework. So choose the ones which are easier, and liked by your child and start with them first. Organize the workload in such a way that your kid feels that it can be done by them.
Like for example, if they have to make some project, plan it over a few days so that they don’t have to deal with the workload on a single day.
Does your child have a comfortable place?
While many parents designate the kid’s room as the place to do their homework, it is not always the convenient place to do so. Many kids lose their focus and start to whine because their room or the place is not convenient enough. You need to look into it immediately. You need to choose a room which doesn’t get affected by any noise, internal or external and are free of all distractions so that your child’s attention is not diverted. Choose a place which is,
- A well-lit area: A child cannot work without sufficient amount of light and well lit area allows the child to focus better at the task at hand.
- Resources: The child needs to have all the study materials and requisite resources at hand so that no time is wasted by looking for materials which are needed for the lesson. So choose a place that can store all such materials within their reach. Since many conduct their researches online through professional websites, ensure that they have a good internet connection as well.
- Uncluttered space: Your child needs a clean place to work on their assignments and a cluttered or disorganized space has been seen to divert the attention of children. So, get a space which is organized and kept well.
- Non-confrontational: Your child may be unwilling to work because of confrontations at home. These may include arguments or fights or any such issues. Ensure that while your child is working at their homework, there are no confrontations at home which might disturb them and make them unable to concentrate as they get intimidated quite easily.
- School supplies: School supplies like pens, erasers, pencils, notebooks and so on are the lifeline of successfully completing homework. So, before your child sits down to work at it, ensure that they have all the requisite supplies which will allow them to work efficiently.
Can your child take breaks?
If you want to create a safe and learning environment for your child, ensure that they can take frequent breaks in-between studies. Kids are restless and cannot concentrate on a lesson for too long. Frequent breaks help their brains to be rejuvenated and allow them to concentrate better post break. Allow them a 10 minute break after 45 minutes of studying.
Also, support any style of studying that your child feels comfortable with. Like for example, many children cannot study for long sitting at one place; they need to move around and can even walk and study at the same time. Support it if it fares well, instead of demotivating them.
Do you integrate other methods with homework?
Some kids learn better through various mediums. Like for example, some learn better with music while others with colours. So integrate such learning methods with your child’s learning and help them retain much of that information.
Like for example, tap on the table top, creating beats while making your kid learn words or use paint and make your kid hide words using colours and find it out!
Do you reward your child?
A child becomes more enthusiastic about learning and doing their homework when they are rewarded profusely. So, integrate the same while they do their homework.
Like for example, promise them candies if they can complete a particular set of math questions within 45 minutes. Or if the like cartoons or like watching TV, promise them some TV time when they get done with their homework.
Did you ban all sorts of activities?
Many parents rescript their children form taking part in any sort of activities if a kid doesn’t complete their homework or are weak in some subjects. This is not right. The child will rebel even more and will be less enthusiastic about homework because of it. Partaking in activities, in which they are good at, boost their confidence and makes them feel good about themselves. Motivate them and help them to do homework while ta the same time encouraging them to continue with their extracurricular activities.
Do you panic?
Are you one of those parents who panic a lot when you do not know the subject or cannot find a solution or cannot help your children with their homework? Do you become frustrated easily with your child? Well, you have to stop that immediately. Children are very fragile human beings andeven a minor incident can scar them forever. So stop panicking and venting your anger out on them. Instead look for a solution.
Get a tutor or ask someone else for help. There are a number of educational sites available online who can help your child with their homework as well as their lessons. Go to them for help if needed.
So, if your reply was an ‘yes’ to most of those points above, then you have just the right kind of environment to support your child’s learning growth. However, if your reply was a ‘no’ then you got big changes to make at home and make it conducive to your child’s learning abilities. So, go ahead and make these changes now and help your child feel better about their future!
‘Dreams don’t work unless you do.’