Parent Magazine St. Johns September 2019 | Page 11

absolutely loved when we did his homework together;
it was a great occasion for father-son bonding. Over
time, he developed some impressive study habits and
skills that have served him well in middle school, and
which I hope will continue in high school. Although we
still share many great moments together, it is safe to say
that they rarely involve his homework.
Before deciding whether or not to help your children
with their homework, you should also consider whether
or not you are qualified to do so. Researchers have
discovered that the more parents know about the
subject matter, the more children learn from getting
help with it. This makes intuitive sense. You may even
teach your children how to use different ways to
accomplish certain tasks. However, when you know
little or nothing about the topic, your children are likely
to get frustrated by your inability to help out, and you
might even make mistakes in their homework.
Researchers have found that, in general, parents are
better able to help their children with reading and
writing than with math homework. They attribute that
to the fact that when it comes to reading and writing,
most parents are simply better at it. The opposite is the
case with respect to math. Here, parents often know
less, are less up-to-date with the latest instructional
strategies, and a parent’s old instructional strategies
often conflict with those contemporary methods taught
at school.
Helping when you can and where appropriate is
important, but it is even more important that you stay
within the proper bounds of involvement. One of the
most consistent findings is that children benefit the
most when parents support them in their own efforts to
do the homework rather than help them out every step
of the way.
There is nothing wrong with working very closely with
your children on their homework since this will help
them develop great study habits and skills. Yet, the
most effective form of involvement overall is simply
to set clear expectations and guidelines and then to
reward good behavior when those expectations and
guidelines are met. One important aspect is to set
clear rules for when, where, and how your children’s
homework is supposed to be completed. Research
indicates that when parents engage in proper rule-
setting, children spend more time on their homework,
use that time more effectively, and most importantly,
internalize those rules so that they become routine,
good habits over time.
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S T. J O H N S parent M A G A Z I N E | 11