Is It Good for Children to Do Homework During the Summer?

Many people affirm that it’s good for children to have room for recreation during the summer months. This allows them to regain energy for the following school year.

At the same time, others point out that summer activities shouldn’t be exclusively recreational. Rather, children should have to do academic work as well. The reasoning behind this argument is that it helps children stay responsible and maintain their study habits.

The two positions are valid, so the question remains: Is it good for children to do homework during the summer ?

What’s wrong with children doing homework during the summer?

Some specialist argue against the idea that doing school work during vacation is good for children. They affirm that this can produce negative consequences that will affect the child’s development during the following school year.

Many schools and educators have developed the habit of assigning homework for summer vacation. They often do so without taking into account how well each individual student has done in school over the past year. 

However, we need to keep in mind that, for many children, this seems more like a punishment for not having done sufficiently well in class. The situation only adds to already present feelings of frustration and failure.

Obligations don’t motivate

If we overload our children with obligations during the summer, this may affect their performance once school picks back up.  They may pay less attention in class and, as a result, get lower grades. 

Children come to the conclusion that their performance makes no difference. Whether they do well or not, they can’t fully enjoy their summer vacation.

Doing homework takes up important time in a child’s day. It reduces the time children can spend in contact with their friends and reduces their relaxation time.

Summer is a time when children should be able to have fun, not worry about obligations. Therefore, summer school work can end up producing a lack of motivation in regards to studying. What’s more, it reduces children’s interactions with other family members.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), children spend a great deal of time doing homework throughout the school year. It points out that this can cause negative effects, as the daily pressure of excessive homework can affect a child’s physical and mental health.

What about their rights?

It’s also important to remember Article 31 of the United Nations Children’s Rights Convention of 1989. This article clearly states that children have the right to relax and have fun in the way they want to.

There recreational activities can include sports, movies, or whatever they choose. They also have the right to freely participate in cultural and social life.

What are the positive aspects of doing homework during the summer?

It’s important to remember that school activities are continuous. Homework is part of what helps children develop responsibility, discipline, order and consistency. Of course, they also help children learn good study habits .

Giving children homework during the summer helps to reinforce the content they learned during the school year. However, it’s important to also consider how much work to assign, as well as the abilities of each student.

Teachers should make sure that children can complete the work and still have plenty of time to relax, have fun and spend with family and friends.

Time to share

At the same, we can point out that summer homework provides an opportunity for parents to spend with their children. While children should complete their homework themselves, parents can still be close by to provide support. This strengthens the parent-child bond.

To us, as parents, homework is an important and necessary part of our children’s education. This is especially true when it comes to key subjects. The correct load is one that focuses on reinforcing knowledge of a subject in which the child has demonstrated more weakness.

The time children spend on homework when they’re very young shouldn’t be more than 15 minutes a day. For elementary school students, homework should last no longer than an hour. Then, the time dedicated to reinforcing content should increase accordingly as children advance in their studies.

It’s extremely important for parents and teachers to achieve proper coordination and communication. 

This will allow them to create an adequate homework system. As a result, the time that children spend doing homework during summer vacation will be truly productive and beneficial.