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My Family Care asks Clare: The after school homework regime epitomises 'War and Peace' in many a household. What steps can you take to minimise the battles, and how can you support your children from homework hell to homework heaven?
Becoming your parents
I find as a parent that most things I do can be classified into one of two categories: (a) replicating what my parents did, or (b) doing the exact opposite of what my parents did. When it comes to homework, it's definitely an (a).
During my secondary school years, it was my Dad who was around at homework time. I'd get home, get myself a snack and settle down at the kitchen table. My Dad would sit alongside me and we'd talk about what I had on that day.
Helping children plan
The most important thing I learned from him was to plan and structure my work, rather than diving in at breakneck speed in a quest to get it finished before Dynasty or Dallas came on TV.
But, most of all, I remember what a fantastic source of information he was. If he didn't know the answer he would help me to find it.
More often than not, he would disappear into the sitting room to grab a few volumes of his prized Encyclopaedia Britannica (EB) collection off the shelves and together we would seek out the relevant pages for that night's homework task. And then he would disappear and I would get on with my homework alone.
And so it is with my son, who has just started secondary school. Either my husband or myself will sit down with him to discuss the tasks in hand. Our aim is to help set him up for the task ahead and the leave him to it - his school is big on encouraging its students to become "independent learners".
The internet has taken over
Sadly, the EB collection has long gone and it's the internet that we resort to when additional information is required. It's not something I am particularly comfortable with on a number of levels.
The EB (rightly or wrongly!) was always presented to me as the oracle - it was the only place I had to go, and I never questioned its reliability. Launching onto the internet is not so straightforward; finding accurate, age appropriate information (and avoiding "homework by Wiki"!) can be a frustrating process.
Anyone for books...?
If anyone has any recommendations for useful sites, I'd be interested to hear them.
But, more than that, I would love to be able to provide my son with some reference books to put on a shelf in a prominent place in the house which cover all of the main subjects in an intelligent, challenging but accessible way. I would like him to experience the same sense of awe that I used to feel when my Dad reappeared with a volume of the EB.
Suggestions, anyone?
Clare Wooldridge, Coaching & Consultancy Manager, My Family Care
