How can I make homework time more successful for my child?

Here are tips I shared with parents on Martha Stewart Living to make homework time more successful this year for your child and you.

Know the teacher’s expectations. Be clear as to each teacher’s homework policy so you are all on the same page from the get-go.

Be a guider not doer. Insist homework be your child’s responsibility not yours. Resist the temptation of always sitting next to her and offer your help only when it’s really needed. If your child is having difficulties, help her understand the work by making up similar problems and showing her step by step how to do it. Then watch her try to do one on her own. That way you won’t be doing all the work for her. You goal is to merely check completed work. If you always do it with your child you’ll never be able to help the child do the task alone at school.

Develop a weekly homework reminder. Teach your child to create a simple reminder of daily or weekly assignments as well as a long-term projects and reports. The ultimate goal is for your child to track of his own daily assignments without your reminders.

Set a routine. Select a time that works best for your kid to do his—after school, before dinner, after dinner—then stick to it. Ask your child for his input and do try to accommodate his schedule. A set and predictable schedule helps defray the battles and gets your kid on a routine.

Teach study skills. A common reason for homework battles is that the child hasn’t learned essential study skills. Here are a few such skills to help your child:

Make a ‘To Do’ list first: Help your child make a list of what needs to be done in order of priority, and then cross each off as completed. A young child can draw a different task on paper strips, put them in the order he plans to complete each homework, and then tear off a strip as each task is finished until no more remain.

Do the hardest first: Encourage your child to do the hardest assignment first since it takes more concentration and longer to do.

Beat the clock: To help with time management, give your child an oven-timer or stopwatch. Tell him to set the time for a specified amount and encourage him to work by himself until the time runs out. Gradually stretch the time as your child’s attention span increases.

Put finished tasks away, ASAP: Set a routine that the finished task is immediately put into a folder, placed in the backpack and set by the door ready for next morning.

Help your child understand the benefits of homework.

Find out what motivates your kid.

Be a facilitator rather than a force to be reckoned with. Make peace with the reality that most kids don't like doing homework.

Be engaged and make homework time a significantly empowering experience for your child instead of a negative experience.

Use praise to achieve intrinsic motivation.

Shift the responsibility from you to your child. Let your child deal with the consequences of not doing his/her homework.

Remove your knee-jerk reaction of needing to do your child's homework.