Motivate your Children to Do Their Homework
In most homes, trying to motivate your children to do their homework isn’t an easy task. Many parents want to know what they can do to encourage their children to get their work done.
Today, we’ll share some useful strategies you can use. Not only will they help you motivate your children to do their homework, but they’ll also get them to incorporate homework time into their daily routines.
The much-dreaded homework
Even the youngest children in school have homework to do. The goal of that homework is to get your child to review what they learned in school so they can reinforce what the teacher taught that day.
In addition, doing homework every day helps your child learn positive habits. While doing their work, they’re also learning about studying, perseverance, organization, and other skills.
However, before we can turn homework time into a habit, we may have to work through some complications. That’s because most children don’t like homework; they don’t want to do it, they find it boring, they’re distracted, and they can’t concentrate. As a result, trying to motivate your children to do their homework can be a tiring and frustrating task for both parents and children.
Winning the war with your children’s homework
First, in order to motivate your children to do their homework, it’s important for parents to think about the following things:
- Do your children have a specific schedule for homework time? Children should start to think about homework time as a routine and a habit. To do so, it’s best to get them used to doing their homework at the same time every day.
- Do your children have their own place specifically for homework? Your kids need an adequate space, away from any noise and other distractions, like their phones or the TV. Also, this space should have good lighting.
- Are they getting enough sleep and eating well? Your children should be well-rested so they can concentrate on their homework. Therefore, it’s important to ensure they’re eating nutritious foods and getting proper sleep.
- Are you offering homework help if they need it? Some little ones are more independent than others and can do their tasks on their own more easily. However, there are others that need more help from their parents. They may need help concentrating because they’re easily distracted, or they may need help understanding the material.
How to motivate your children to do their homework
The first thing you should do is go over the questions we just asked. Then, once you’ve taken care of those issues, you can focus on just motivating and encouraging your children to do their work. Here are some strategies you can use to help motivate your children to do their work:
Use positive reinforcement
It’s important that children feel like their effort, discipline, and perseverance are paying off. In addition to being something they have to do, homework should mean achievement and personal improvement for your kids. Therefore, it’s important to congratulate them and encourage their good progress throughout the week. It will make them feel good and increase their self-esteem.
Let them take breaks
If children know that they’ll get to enjoy a break after they do their homework for a while, they’ll be more encouraged to stay focused.
Therefore it’s important to let them take 10-15 minute breaks in the middle of homework time. In addition, you should let them decide what they do during their break.
Talk to your kid while they do their homework
Of course, it’s important to talk to your children about the homework they’re doing. But you should also talk to them about personal things. You can motivate your children to do their homework by asking them about their day at school, their classmates, their teachers, the games they play, etc.
So, as your child works, you can ask them questions like: “How does your friend Pedro do this?; Which classmate do you like to play and learn with most? Why? Do you understand this when your teacher explains it? How do you learn best?”
By doing this, parents can show interest in their children’s stories, and they can also get a better understanding of their child’s learning, their progress, and their needs.
Explain the importance of homework
The more children understand the importance of doing homework, the more motivated they’ll be to do it. Therefore, it’s important to establish a connection between school, studying, and their hopes and dreams for the future.
This will make it much easier to motivate them to do their homework because you’ll be able to connect with their goals. By doing so, your children will understand that working on their homework every day will bring them one step closer to reaching those goals.
Give them something to drink
For many adults, a cup of tea or a good cup of coffee is the key to motivating ourselves to study or work in front of the computer. So, don’t you think you could also motivate your child by preparing a drink they like?
You can try bringing them juice, a glass of milk, or a chocolate shake. Their motivation and desire to do their homework will increase without them even noticing.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Regueiro, B., Suárez, N., Valle, A., Núñez, J. C. y Rosário, P. (2015). La motivación e implicación en los deberes escolares a lo largo de la escolaridad obligatoria. Revista de Psicodidáctica, 20(1), pp. 47-63. Recuperado de https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/175/17532968002.pdf
- Giraldo, D. M. P. y Caro, M. A. T. (2012). Reflexiones sobre la pertinencia de las tareas escolares: acercamientos para futuros estudios. Uni-pluriversidad, 12(2), pp. 22-33. Recuperado de https://revistas.udea.edu.co/index.php/unip/article/view/14433/12669