Whether it’s math, German or English – if you ask your children to solve their homework, they suddenly have a thousand more important things to do. Sometimes the answer is: “We don’t have any homework today And then a few days later the teacher’s letter of complaint flutters into the house.

Doing homework can be a big challenge for children and can lead to protests, complaining and petulance. In general, the school performance of children of elementary school age is a frequent reason why the house is not in order. This is no different for us adults than it is for the little ones. Nevertheless, it should not be a solution to force the child to work or to do the tasks yourself without further ado.

Children Need To Learn

“If you don’t do your homework today, you’ll be banned from watching TV for a week!” are the kind of sentences you often hear from desperate parents who want to get their children to work. Of course, it is important and right to convey and give elementary school students a motivation to work. However, this should not be created through pressure.

Under pressure, your children not only work less concentrated but above all, the learning effect usually fails to materialize. The homework is worked off quickly so that the hour in front of the TV comes closer. Therefore, you should make it your goal to lead your children to independent learning. After all, as a mother or father, you won’t be sitting next to your children while they’re doing their homework during high school and college. After all, children need to learn to take responsibility for their own learning.

That includes teaching your little ones to learn. That means your kids need to figure out how to understand and learn things, and which method works best for them personally. Homework – especially for elementary school students – is a first step toward independent learning, working and understanding. You should not deprive your children of this opportunity by taking away their tasks or forcing them to solve them. Instead, teach your children about the opportunities homework provides and why it is worthwhile for them to do it.

Find out more about teaching children to live independently here.

Show Understanding For Homework Hatred

Playing soccer, watching TV, meeting friends – elementary school students would rather spend their free time on the playground than at their desks. If they do their homework at all, it’s usually done quickly and sloppily because their best buddy is already waiting on the soccer field. It is quite normal that children need a lot of exercises and like to be out and about with their friends. Let them have their space and give them the time to make the most of their childhood and play. However, this doesn’t mean that homework should go undone, but that you should be understanding of the fact that your kids prefer to spend their afternoon with friends rather than in front of homework.

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Goal Instead Of Compulsion – Create A Long-Term Motivation To Work

Don’t use prohibitions to get elementary school students to complete assignments. After all, you don’t want your kids to do their homework so they can watch TV, but so they can read an exciting book or – in the long run – work at their dream job later on. Fixed goals are therefore a good incentive to get the homework done. Of course, you shouldn’t say to your kids, “You need a good job later to earn a lot of money, so you have to solve the assignments.” Instead, help children find their own goals. This can be, for example, a first self-written letter for grandma or solving a number puzzle. After all, most children are very proud when they accomplish something and learn a new skill. Your job, therefore, is just to show them how they can use the new knowledge and how it will help them in life.

What do you want to be when you grow up? This is a question children ask themselves relatively often, especially at a young age. From veterinarian to astronaut, it’s all there – explain to your child, even if you think his or her career aspiration is unrealistic, how he or she can fulfill this dream, and, above all, what part school plays in this. This way, kids learn early on to figure out what they want and to work toward and fight for their desires and goals. Of course, the little ones’ dream jobs change frequently as they develop. But through this pedagogy, you teach them that you have to do something to achieve your goals.

Praise Is The Be-All And End-All: Children Crave Recognition

Everyone is happy when their work is appreciated. Younger children especially need a lot of recognition. When struggling with homework, you should therefore also praise your child for small successes. Sentences like: “Look, first you didn’t even understand the first task and now you were able to solve half the page without thinking twice,” can work wonders. Show your child his or her success. Solving a complicated math problem or understanding a difficult text can instill great pride in young children.

Here’s How You Can Still Help Elementary School Students At Their Desks

Your head is smoking, question marks are flying at you, and the blank page stares questioningly back at you. Everyone, whether child or adult, has certainly experienced this situation. If there is no solution in sight for homework, parents can of course intervene. However, it is important that they do not calculate the task for their child, but merely provide assistance. In this way, parents can help without depriving their child of independent learning:

• Provide the first step: Sometimes little ones just have a hard time getting started. Once they have an approach to the math problem, the numbers usually fly through their heads as if by themselves and the memory of the lessons is recalled.
• Provide exemplary solution: Seeing and understanding how to do it correctly once – this works wonders for most children’s work. Simply audition a similar task with your child. In the beginning, he or she can also put the “exemplary solution” next to the homework to look it over again. Especially with math problems, example problems help your child to understand the calculation path.
• Rewording tasks: The most difficult part of schoolwork for most children is understanding the assignment. So have your child explain it to you at the beginning: What does the assignment ask of me? What result should the work produce? If that doesn’t help them understand the requirements of the homework, you can also rephrase the assignment.
• Closing gaps in knowledge is a priority: How is your child supposed to solve the difficult text problem if he or she is already hacking at the plus calculation? How can an elementary school student make few mistakes in dictation if he doesn’t know which words are capitalized? If you recognize that your child has knowledge gaps when solving homework, it makes sense to close them first. Repeat the missing school material with your child rather than working on the homework. If this means that there is no time left for the homework, you can write a message to the teacher or ask for help. Sentences like: “Unfortunately, I had to repeat the written addition with my daughter first, therefore she had no more concentration to solve the actual tasks” or “My son could not solve the homework because he still has gaps in the multiplication tables. Do you have any tips on how he can improve them?” are the right way to go here.

A Nice Desk Works Wonders – Creating The Right Working Atmosphere

Overall, it can be said that it is important that your child does most of the homework independently. However, you can help by showing your child how to learn independently. You can also serve as a contact person for questions and help your little one with corrections. It is important that you do not put pressure on your child. Here you will learn why homework is the child’s responsibility, not the parent’s.

You can also help your child set a schedule. A mutually agreed upon “homework time” gives structure to your child’s day and helps with motivation. However, elementary school students, in particular, should take a break after 20 to 30 minutes. This helps maintain concentration. Above all, a well-equipped desk provides the right working atmosphere. Let your child choose pretty pens or a comfortable, colorful chair – so he or she can look forward to using these things while solving homework.

Here you can find more tips on how to teach your child through play.