Did you know it’s highly likely your child spends all day struggling through school, comes home mentally exhausted and is then faced with an hour or more of homework?
It’s enough to make them cry. I can tell you without a doubt; tears can morph into massive meltdowns as the school years go by.
That homework task that you thought was easy can cause ‘World War 3’ and it’s not pretty.
In fact it’s really stressful.
When I was developing the Speech to Spelling Code™, homework was a topic that generated much anxiety for kids with school learning difficulties.
They hate it!
So we have provided plenty of strategies and techniques to help them to deal with it successfully.
Here are 4 tips to help lighten the homework load and restore peace and harmony in your home.
- Let them have a break first; eat, drink, exercise and chill out before they begin.
- If they’re easily distracted use a timer and give them set times to complete their homework and take breaks.
- Chewing gum, drinking water, using noise cancelling headphones or listening to music; are all proven ways to help students stay focused.
- Make sure your child sticks to the recommended hours spent doing homework, whether they finish it or not. Kids with LD should not spend hours completing homework that may take another student just one hour.
Homework should be a reflection of what your child is learning at school.
So remember, your child should never come home and have no idea what they’re supposed to do. If that’s the case let their teacher know. Homework should just be some research or a practice of what they have already learnt at school in class.
Getting homework in on time, is a topic I cover in The Speech to Spelling Code™. It’s covered in tutorial J-20 where we discuss ‘12 Steps To Get Homework Done On Time’.
Let’s face it everyone hates homework, but if your child has effective strategies to deal with it, peace and tranquility will be restored in your household once again.
It’s all about understanding your child’s individual needs and helping them to develop strategies that will give them the skills and confidence to do well at school.
Wishing you and your child every success.
Liz Dunoon
My son has a LD and I went to school to speak with his teacher because homework would take all weekend and he wouldnt have a clue what it was about. As you said he spent all day trying to just get through it and then when he got home there I was with more of the same. The teacher and the headteacher was as unhelpful as they could be. The teacher took my son to one side and stared him down saying ‘Come on you can do this cant you. We did it in class’. The teachers stare instantly made him bow his head and stare at the floor and repeating the question made my son eventually agree. When we got out of there he begged me to help him so his teacher wouldnt get angry. The same thing happened week after week. So I went to the headteacher. Again she reassured me like the teacher but then handled my son in the same manor when she thought I was out of ear shot. Teachers in my sons school were not as supportive as you would expect especially when my son is know to have ASD, ADHD and Dyslexia plus 20 hours additional support in class. We no longer attend that school after he was verbally scalled in class for not doing his homework and started crying. He then started getting so anxious about attending school he would be physically sick on arrival and we would be sent home. When I finally got to the bottom of the sickness and heard about him crying in school I realised the connection. I returned to school to hear that all kids in his class are a bunch of cry babies. Some teachers/schools are better than others.
That is appalling Amanda. Stories like yours make me so frustrated. I am so glad you got your son out of there and really hope you have found a better school for him. I’m sorry you had to go through all that angst. Tell your son he is better than that and he will do Ok in the long-term and with your love and support I’m sure he will be. If I can help in anyway let me know? Kind regards Liz D