MOTIVATING YOUR CHILD TO DO HOMEWORK

It is hard to believe summer has come and gone, and now your child is back at school. During the summer you encouraged your child to read to avoid brain drain, you reviewed areas in school that need improvement, and you have bought your child state of the art school supplies and back to school clothes. As a parent, one of your biggest challenges during the school year is to stimulate and motivate your child to do homework without turning homework into a battle ground. As a school psychologist and a licensed psychologist in private practice, one of the most frequently asked questions is "How do I motivate my child to do school assignments?" Listed below are helpful tips.

Reward your child for performing homework assignments independently.

Catching your child at succeeding and doing homework is a much more powerful motivation than punishment for failure can be. Write a contract with your child, for example, "I, Tommy, will do my homework on my own five nights in a row. When I finish my homework, I can play my Sega game for 30 minute."

Establish homework rules, a time, and a quiet place to do homework. Turn off the TV, stop phone calls, and make certain that the distracting toys are put away. Maintain consistency, explain to your child that work not done during homework time will have to be finished during play time, TV time, etc.

Make sure that your child understands the assignments and most importantly, that he is capable of completing them. Give him a notebook to write down assignments in school and have him bring it home each evening. Work closely with your child's teacher to assure that homework is being done in a timely and satisfactory fashion. Make sure that completed homework is brought back to school.

Make yourself available during homework time to answer questions. Check your child's homework. Sit close to your child and work on a project of your own while he/she does homework.

Maintain your cool. Make sure that you are calm and in emotional control when you are helping your child. Never engage in name calling or attacking the character or personality of your child when homework is not done correctly. If your child continues to have homework problems despite your best efforts, he may have an attention deficit disorder and require a psycho-educational evaluation to determine specific areas needed for assistance.