Homework Solutions: Less Stress, More Success

by Paige Feurer


Back-to-school is a time of excitement and anticipation.  However, this time of year can also be a time of considerable stress.  For students with learning and/or attention difficulties and their families, one of the major sources of this stress is often homework.  When homework goes well, it provides a valuable opportunity to solidify the understanding of concepts learned at school.  Just as importantly, it provides the opportunity to build study habits, time management skills, and organizational strategies that will help students to succeed in post-secondary school, in the work world, and in their everyday adult lives. 

Unfortunately, homework does not always go well and when it goes wrong, it can be a time of frustration for the entire family.  Many families report that homework is a significant source of conflict in their homes and that it interferes with positive family time in the evenings.  The purpose of this article is to provide an outline of the most common homework pitfalls and, more importantly, to provide parents with some key strategies for reducing homework-related stress and for setting students up for homework success.

Homework Problems

1.      Spending too much time  

Some parents describe spending hours on homework every night with their child.  This can be due to difficulties getting started on tasks, problems sustaining attention, slow production of work, or challenges in understanding the work.  Regardless of the cause, this situation leaves everyone feeling frustrated and takes away from important family time and leisure activities. 

2.      Avoidance 

Conversely, many parents report that their son or daughter never does homework.  They do not bring any homework home and may provide a variety of reasons for this (e.g., “I finished it in class”, “The teacher didn’t assign any”, “I handed it in already, but the teacher must have lost it.”)  All too often, parents discover (usually at report card time) that several assignments were not handed in or that a lack of studying seems to have contributed to low test marks.

3.      Organizational difficulties 

Disorganization can also be a major hindrance to homework success.  In this case, students may have every intention of doing their homework, but they forget to bring it home, forget to write it down in their agenda, or forget to bring the materials that they need.  Most discouraging of all, they may finish the homework, but misplace it before they get a chance to hand it in.

Homework Solutions

1.      Establish a consistent, daily homework routine

One of the key ways to tackle avoidance is to make sure that homework time (perhaps better termed “study time”) happens every day.  If study time is a given, regardless of whether specific homework is brought home, there is much less incentive to come up with excuses.  Here are some tips: 

·        Together with your son or daughter, decide on a consistent time and place for homework to be done.  Write this schedule down and post it somewhere visible.  Click here for a blank Homework Schedule. 

·        Get input from this year’s teachers about a reasonable amount of time to be spent on homework per night.  Using this information, decide on a minimum and maximum amount of study time to be spent each day. 

·        Once the timelines are established, aim for the reasonable amount of study time, but do not exceed the predetermined maximum amount.  If homework is still not finished after the maximum time, write and sign a note in the agenda.  If this is happening on a regular basis, discuss the issue with the teacher(s).

·        For days when no homework is brought home, use the minimum time to do other study activities (i.e., organizing binders, working on a long-term project, studying for an upcoming test).  Print out a list of activities to do in study time and keep it handy.  Click here for a list of Things to do in Study Time. 

 2.      Use effective organizational strategies

Encourage your son or daughter to learn and practice organizational strategies to help them manage their time, their materials, and their homework.  Here are a few tips: 

·        Emphasize the daily use of an agenda or other calendar system.  Initially, support may be required to develop this skill.  This may take the form of parents and teachers checking and initialing the agenda on a daily basis. 

·        Build 5-10 minutes of organizational time into the daily homework routine.  This time can be used to update the agenda, sort through the backpack, and organize binders and study notes.

·        Have a designated place for materials that often get misplaced.  For example, have a folder at the front of each binder for completed assignments that need to be handed in. 

3.      Get started more efficiently

One of the best ways to reduce the time spent on homework is to get started on tasks more efficiently.  The following are some strategies that may be helpful:

·        Consider using a timer.  For students with attention difficulties, it can be overwhelming to think about a solid block of study time stretching out ahead of them.  To help with this, incorporate one or two breaks in the study period and use the timer to show the amount of time left until the next break. 

·        At the beginning of study time, help your son or daughter to prioritize tasks and to break them down into manageable steps.  These can then be written down as a checklist and checked off as they are completed. 

·        Decide where to begin.  For some students, tackling an easier task first can be effective for getting started and building momentum.   

4.      Set up a communication system with the school

Regular communication with the school is particularly important if avoidance and organizational difficulties are impacting homework success.  Here are some strategies to try:

·        Talk to school personnel about setting up a communication system to help you to find out what homework has been assigned, when assignments are due, and which assignments (if any) are missing.  This may involve teachers and parents checking and signing the agenda daily or having an end-of-the-day check-in time with a teacher or support person to make sure that homework materials are packed to go home.  Some schools maintain a website that lists daily homework assignments. 

·        If missing assignments have been an issue, the communication plan may also involve a regular check-in by phone or e-mail to make sure that you are informed of missed assignments.

·        If homework has been a major issue for your son or daughter in the past, discuss the possibility of including it as a goal on this year’s Individual Program Plan (IPP). 

5.      Set homework goals together 

Although parents can use strategies to encourage effective homework habits, it is equally important for the students themselves to be working towards homework success and, ultimately, independence.  Here are some tips for setting goals together:

·        Goal-setting can be done as a family, with each family member generating a weekly or monthly goal.  A goal chart can then be created to track progress. 

·        Ensure that goals are specific and attainable.  For example, instead of setting a vague goal such as “I will do better on my homework”, consider a specific, attainable goal such as “I will complete and hand in all of my assignments this week”. As students experience success and build confidence, encourage more challenging goals.

·        If it is difficult to get your son or daughter to invest in this process, you may also want to talk about rewards for achieving the goal.  Brainstorm a list of rewards that are not monetary or material, but that focus instead on preferred activities or privileges (e.g., a stay-up-late night, extra computer or TV time, playing a preferred game with a parent).   

Finally, no matter which goals you set and which strategies you choose to use, be sure to celebrate success!   

Paige Feurer is a registered psychologist at the Calgary Learning Centre.  She has a Master of Science degree in school psychology from the University of Calgary as well as a Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia.  Paige facilitates workshops for parents, students and teachers and has taught elementary, junior and senior high.