Helping Older Children With Their Homework
If you have an older child who is approaching or dealing with exams, chances are you’ll want to offer any help you can. If they are tackling official exams, their amount of homework will increase greatly from the years before.
So how as a parent can you help? Even if you aren’t a maths whizz or a biology geek, there are ways you can show your support.
Keep them focused
With our adult minds, even we struggle to focus on work! Kids and teenagers struggle even more, as their brains jump all over the place. If you’re helping with homework, the chances are you’ll also need to help with focus! Procrastination will only mean that their work will take them longer. Give them motivation to finish by a certain time can be useful. So can rewards. They give your kid something to work towards, and stop things dragging out for longer than they should.
Update yourself on the basics
There is a pretty big change that things have changed quite a lot since you were at school yourself. In order to give them the right help, you need to know the current rules and guidelines. If your child is at the start of a particular exam phase, you need to know the basics. Also, be aware that there are different exam boards, and each one has slightly different guidelines. For essays, there are now many different types of referencing systems. Knowing the one your child needs to use is important. You also need to know things like; can my child take a dictionary into their language exam. Whether they can or cannot will make a difference as to how you approach exam preparation.
Give them a suitable space to work in
There are three things a kid needs to do his or her homework. The first is good lighting. The second is any tools or supplies necessary. The third is a suitable space. Provide the first by situating them next to a window. Natural light is always the best. If you can’t do this, a bright desk lamp will help. Regarding tools and supplies, make sure they are close at hand. As space, when your kids are younger they can work in the bedrooms. However, as they grow, you might want to give them their own space. Can you make the guest room double up as a study for a couple of years? Or is do you have a garage, basement or attic space you don’t use. Having a space that is separate from the everyday distractions of family life will help them focus.
Speak to their teachers or lecturers
Be sure to also speak to their teachers or lecturers. Request a short meeting with them. Explain that you want to support your child’s education and want to know the best way to do this. The teacher will likely be very grateful for the extra help; your kids is their student after all! They will be able to run over things like exam requirements, plus give you an important deadline to keep an eye on yourself.
This post has been contributed.
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