Clinical Reference Systems: Pediatric Advisor 10.0
Spanish version
Homework Problems
DESCRIPTION
- Performs below his or her potential at school.
- Has average or better intelligence, with no learning
disabilities.
- Doesn't finish schoolwork or homework.
- "Forgets" to bring homework home.
- "Forgets," loses, or doesn't turn in finished homework.
- "Doesn't remember" what parents have taught.
- Gets poor report card.
- Doesn't want any help.
CAUSES
Some children get into bad habits with their homework
because they become preoccupied with TV programs or video
games. Some middle school children become sidetracked by
their hormones or by sports. Other children who find
schoolwork difficult would simply rather play. If parents
help these children cut back other activities to reasonable
amounts and count on the teacher to grade the child's
efforts on schoolwork and homework, most of these children
will improve. Motivation for good grades eventually comes
from a desire to please the teacher and be admired by peers,
enjoyment in knowing things, ability to see studying as a
pathway to a future career, knowledge that she needs a
3-point grade average to get into college, and her own
self-reproach when she falls short of her goals.
When parents over respond to this behavior and exert
pressure for better performance, they can start a power
struggle around schoolwork. "Forgetfulness" becomes a game.
The child sees the parents' pressure as a threat to his
independence. More pressure brings more resistance. Poor
grades become the child's best way of proving that he is
independent of his parents and that he can't he pushed.
Good evidence for this is the child does worse in the areas
where he receives the most help. If parental interference
with a child's schoolwork continues for several years, the
child becomes a school "underachiever".
HELPING YOUR CHILD REGAIN RESPONSIBILITY FOR SCHOOLWORK
- Get out of the middle regarding homework.
Clarify that completing and turning in homework is
between your child and the teacher. Remember that the
purpose of homework is to teach your child to work on
his own. Don't ask your child if he has any homework.
Don't help with homework except at your child's request.
Allow the school to apply natural consequences for poor
performance. Walk away from any power struggles. Your
child can learn the lesson of schoolwork accountability
only through personal experience. If possible,
apologize to your youngster, saying, for example, "After
thinking about it, we have decided you are old enough to
manage your own affairs. Schoolwork is your business
and we will try to stay out of it. We are confident you
will do what's best for you."
The result of this "sink or swim" approach is that
arguments will stop, but your child's schoolwork may
temporarily worsen. Your child may throw caution to the
wind to see if you really mean what you have said. This
period of doing nothing but waiting for your child to
find her own reason for doing well in school may be very
agonizing. However, children need to learn from their
mistakes. If you can avoid "rescuing" your child, her
grades will show a dramatic upsurge in anywhere from 2
to 9 months. This planned withdrawal of parental
pressure is best done in the early grades, when marks
are of minimal importance but the development of the
child's own personal reason for learning is critical.
- Avoid reminders about schoolwork.
Repeatedly reminding your child about schoolwork
promotes rebellion. So do criticizing, lecturing, and
threatening your child. Pressure is different from
parental interest and encouragement. If pressure works
at all, it works only temporarily. We can never force
children to learn or to be productive. Learning is a
process of self-fulfillment. It is an area that belongs
to the child and one that we as parents should try to
stay out of, despite our yearnings for our children's
success.
- Coordinate your plan with your child's teacher.
Schedule a parent-teacher conference. Discuss your
views on schoolwork and homework responsibility. Tell
your child's teacher you want your child to be
responsible to the teacher for homework. Clarify that
you would prefer not to check or correct the work,
because this has not been helpful in the past. Tell
them you want to be supportive of the school and could
do this best if the teacher sent home a brief, weekly
progress report. If the teacher thinks your youngster
needs extra help, encourage her to suggest a tutoring
program. In middle school, peer tutoring is often a
powerful motivator.
- Limit TV until schoolwork improves.
While you can't make your child study, you can increase
the potential study time. Eliminate all TV and video
game time on school nights. Explain to your child that
these privileges will be reinstated after the teacher's
weekly report confirms that all homework was handed in
and the overall quality of work (or grades) are
improving. Explain that you are doing this to help him
better structure his time.
- Consider adding incentives for improved school work.
Most children respond better to incentives than
disincentives. Ask your youngster what he thinks would
help. Some good incentives are taking your child to a
favorite restaurant, amusement park, video-arcade,
sports event, or the movies. Sometimes earning
"spending money" by working hard on studies will
interest your child. The payments can be made weekly
based on the teacher's progress reports. A's, B's and
C's can receive a different cash value. What your child
buys with this money should be his business (for
example, music and toys). Rewarding hard work is how
the adult marketplace works.
- Consider removing other privileges for falloff in school
work.
You have already eliminated school-night TV viewing
because it obviously interferes with studying. If the
school reports continue to be poor, you may need to
eliminate all TV and video games. Other privileges that
may need to be temporarily limited should be those that
matter to your child (for example, telephone, bike,
outside play, or visiting friends). If your teenager
drives a car, this privilege may need to be curtailed
until his grades are at least a 3-point (B) average.
For youngsters who have fallen behind in their work,
grounding (that is, no peer contact) for 1 to 2 weeks
may be required until they catch up. Avoid severe
punishment, however, because it will leave your
youngster angry and resentful. Canceling something
important (like membership in Scouts or an athletic
team) or taking away something they care about (like a
pet) because of poor marks is unfair and ineffective.
Being part of a team is also good for motivation.
CALL YOUR CHILD'S TEACHER FOR A CONFERENCE IF:
- Your child's schoolwork and grades do not improve within
2 months.
- Homework is still an issue between you and your child
after 2 months.
- You think your child has a learning problem that makes
school difficult.
CALL YOUR CHILD'S PHYSICIAN IF:
- You think your child is preoccupied with some stresses in
his life.
- You think your child is depressed.
- You have other questions or concerns.
NOTE: If these attempts to motivate your child fail, he may
need an evaluation by a child psychologist or psychiatrist.
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