Let your child know that you think education is important and so homework has to be
done. Here are some ways to help your child with homework:

*| Have a special place for your child to study. The homework area doesn’t have to be
fancy. A desk in the bedroom is nice, but for many children, the kitchen table or a
corner of the living room works just fine. The area should have good lighting and it
should be fairly quiet. Provide supplies and identify resources. For starters, have
available pencils, pens, erasers, writing paper and a dictionary. Other supplies that
might be helpful include a stapler, paper clips, maps, a calculator, a pencil sharpener,
tape, glue, paste, scissors, a ruler, a calculator, index cards, a thesaurus and an
almanac. If possible, keep these items together in one place. If you can’t provide your
child with needed supplies, check with her teacher, school counselor or principal
about possible sources of assistance.

*|  Set a regular time for homework. Having a regular time to do homework helps
children to finish assignments. Of course, a good schedule depends in part on your
child’s age, as well as her specific needs. You’ll need to work with a young child to
develop a schedule. You should give your older child the responsibility for making up
a schedule independently—although you’ll want to make sure that it’s a workable
one. You may find it helpful to have her write out her schedule and put it in a place
where you’ll see it often, such as on the refrigerator.
*| Remove distractions. Turn off the TV and discourage your child from making and
receiving social telephone calls during homework time. (A call to a classmate about
an assignment, however, may be helpful.) If you live in a small or noisy household,
try having all family members take part in a quiet activity during homework time.
You may need to take a noisy toddler outside or into another room to play. If
distractions can’t be avoided, your child may want to complete assignments in the
local library.
*| Don’t expect or demand perfection. When your child asks you to look at what she’s
done—from skating a figure 8 to finishing a math assignment—show interest and
praise her when she’s done something well. If you have criticisms or suggestions,
make them in a helpful way.
One final note: You may be reluctant to help your child with homework because you feel
that you don’t know the subject well enough or because you don’t speak or read English
as well as your child. But helping with homework doesn’t mean doing the homework. It
isn’t about solving the problems for your child, it’s about supporting him to do his best.
You may not know enough about a subject such as calculus to help your child with a
specific assignment, but you can help nonetheless by showing that you are interested,
helping him get organized, providing a place the materials he needs to work, monitoring
his work to see that he completes it and praising his efforts.