Homework Answers
In the life of every family, there are some natural conflicts that come up as the kids are growing up that every family goes through. Whether its when the kids get to start dating or their use of the internet, certain topics always set parents and their offspring at odds without fail. And when it comes to school, of the many candidates for the list of sure fire conflict causes, homework would have to lead the pack. Too often the battle over homework becomes an armed camp with parents on one side holding their ground that the homework will be done and the child or children on the other side digging in their heals to resist defeat at all costs.
This is why coming up with a system for homework and finding some common ground is absolutely essential. The first step is simply to recognize that homework is an area that often leads to such friction so the entire family should sit down at a table and negotiate a system that everybody signs on to so the work gets done with as little nagging and emotional exchanges as possible. The very act of talking together about the problem of homework is a great first step because you make a project of dealing with the issue together.
Nobody wins if this is important step is not taken. For the kids it seems that this is a trap to make them do their homework. But the parents did not invent homework. So it’s the smart thing to do as the student in this equation to partner with your parents to face down this homework issue very early in the school year. You might as well face it because even if you find ways to slip out of your parents control, the homework will still be there. By working with them rather against your parents, you find a way to get the homework out of the way without it creating World War III at home and without it destroying your social life.
The first agreement to be reached at that negotiating table is that the parents and the kids are going to be on the same side in this issue. If you work as a team and as partners, things can be done to help the kids get their work done. Kids should come to the table with the recognition that homework must be done and looking for the best solution to the problem. Parents should come ready to compromise so the young people can have their social time and extracurricular activates and still excel at school.
How you lay out your schedules so the homework gets done will be different for each family. But once the system is put in place, the last agreement is that everybody will live by it without fail and without guilt or nagging. Since each side gave in a little in order to win, if everybody lives up to their end of the bargain, everybody wins.