As a parent, as your child gets older, the homework, events, sports and school activities on a daily basis can be overwhelming for you and your child. Despite the work day you have or how busy your day can get, you have to show a great deal of patience and provide a schedule of flexibility to your child’s needs and activities.

First and foremost, homework is always the priority. You have to establish an understanding with your child that homework comes first no matter if it’s to be done at night after all activities are finished. Get involved with what your child is interested in as far as activities go since you may need to step in if your child tries to take too much on and is having a hard time getting their homework in on time or too tired to do it. Breaking it up in one hour increments after school is helpful as well which won’t lead the child to “burn out”.

If you feel more comfortable of putting your child in a designated homework area, it wouldn’t hurt since this will take away from a lot of distractions like cell phone calls, texting, watching television or listening to music. The quicker and more efficient your child does their homework, they will learn that they will have plenty of time for the fun things they enjoy.

Making time with your child with homework, taking them to the library if needed or reading along with an assignment they are doing will mean a lot to them because they know you could be doing other things. Bringing up school at dinner is wise also so you have an idea your child is learning well or may have questions to ask if they don’t understand something. The idea is to make it as fun as possible but also as painless as possible since, let’s face it, the majority of us never did like homework!

Your child might be struggling to start or complete his homework. However, as a parent we know how important it is for your child to get a good education and go on in life to find a great job. Therefore, as soon as your children start to receive homework, it will be a good idea to implement a homework schedule. This homework schedule is something you and your child can work out together and it can be flexible for days on which your child has extracurricular activities. But the schedule should be used to emphasize the importance of completing homework to receive a good education.

Constructing A Homework Schedule

To start constructing the homework schedule, think of a typical day after school for your child. Then write down all of the activities your child will do after they come home from school. This can help you develop a simple homework schedule to follow. Also if your child has chores in the evening, do not forget to factor these chores into the schedule.

A Sample Homework Schedule

A sample of a homework schedule could include:

4:00 PM: Return from school with 30 minute break for snack and relaxation
4:30 PM: Sit at desk and start on homework.
6:30 PM: Break for dinner
7:30 PM: Return to desk and complete homework.

This is a very simple plan that can be used as a guideline, and the days on which chores or extracurricular activities have to be completed can be added to the schedule. The homework schedule created should be drafted with your child and placed in an area that is visible to both of you. You should also encourage your child to stick to the homework schedule and reward the child’s behavior when they do so. Depending on your child’s age, the days when your child does not have homework can be used to do other things such as an arts and craft project.