Getting Beyond The Nightly Nagging—

Expert Advice On Homework Hassles

By Nancy K. Crevier

Clinical psychologist Robert Reynolds of Connecticut Education Services in Middletown knows that the hours after school can be the most stressful time of the day when homework has turned into a power struggle between child and parent. “I’ve known so many homes in which homework takes up the whole evening and is a drawn-out drama,” said Dr Reynolds in a phone interview, Friday, April 30.

In many instances, the after-school hours dissolve in a cycle of yelling and punitive punishments, he said, neither of which are an effective way to resolve the problem of getting a child to do something he or she does not want to do.

“Yelling should be a red flag to parents that what they are doing is not working,” Dr Reynolds said, and signals that things are out of control. “Most families are exasperated by the time they admit there is a problem,” he said, and professional intervention may be needed to get everyone back on track to a peaceful household.

As a solution, Dr Reynolds has developed an incentive-based program, “The Homework Loop,” to teach parents how to shift homework responsibility to the child, the goal of his plan. The parents need to supply structure so that a child will want to take on that responsibility, and one way to do that is to pair up what the child does not want to do with something that he or she does want.

Parents also need to realize that a child not doing his or her homework is not a reflection on parenting skills. “It’s not about the parent,” stressed Dr Reynolds. “It’s about ‘How do I instill in my child a sense of what is important?’ Parents need to allow the natural consequences of not doing homework occur,” he said. Parents often find the support of a professional and learning to use the tools of The Homework Loop effectively a form of validation that is necessary to regain the balance lost in homework struggles. “Then they can implement the program. And if the parent has involved the teacher and encourages dialogue between the teacher and child, then it becomes an issue between the teacher and the child, and the parent is out of it,” Dr Reynolds explained.

The Homework Loop is made up of three components. First is recording the homework, second is getting the work done effectively, and the third component is to see that the homework is handed in. “There is usually a breakdown in one of these three areas that leads to the homework battles,” Dr Reynolds said.

Key to the success of the program is the use of an incentive, and while for many modern children that involves television, video games, or computer privileges, the motivating factor must be tailored to each child.

Dr Reynolds suggested the following steps to assure The Homework Loop works:

*Setting a time limit for homework.

*Homework time does not begin until the teacher has signed off on the accuracy of the assignment in the child’s notebook and the homework is in front of the child.

*Homework time does not begin until all pencils are sharpened, bathrooms have been visited, any other typical distraction or delaying tactics have been played out, and the child is seated at the desk or table.

*A timer is then set beside the child for the predetermined time limit.

*If the child completes the homework neatly and accurately before the time is up, the parents sign off on it and any remaining time is used as the child chooses (the incentive). If the homework is not completed to the parent’s satisfaction, the child has one redo opportunity before losing the privilege.

*Should the child fail to complete the homework by the time limit, homework time is over and he or shoe has to explain to the teacher why it is not done.

*When the child turns the homework in the next day, the teacher signs off on the assignment pad and the loop begins again.

*Should the child fail to obtain the teacher’s signatures, the incentive is revoked.

When a child must be responsible to the teacher for the homework, Dr Reynolds finds that the child is motivated to complete homework in a timely fashion. “I have found that most children do not want to have that discussion with their teacher,” said Dr Reynolds.

 The Homework Loop is heightening the awareness of what a child is doing and elevating the process to something that engages him or her, Dr Reynolds said. Children who struggle with homework frequently have an attention threshold far higher than that needed to deal with homework — which they consider dull — “But adults have to teach them to bridge that gap,” he said. “Making homework assignments a type of beat-the-clock, visual game brings the task to their active consciousness and raises the interest level,” added Dr Reynolds. When parents realize that they have tools that they can use, homework ceases to be a problem.

 “As the school year progresses the workload increases, and thus the stresses on the child,” said Dr Reynolds. “Homework fights become an explosive situation. In the sense that if a family is willing to ‘work the bugs out’ for next year, it is not too late even now to implement this program,” he said.

“When done properly,” Dr Reynolds said, “parents and children might see results in as little as two weeks.”