It’s hard to calculate how much health “fighting without rules” under the slogan: “Do your homework” takes away from students and parents. One side presses, accuses, promises all sorts of benefits and threatens punishments and keeps them at their desks. The other side tries in every possible way to dodge, run away for a walk, ask for the hundredth time to eat. So few adults are happy with the status quo and do not sigh: when the child will be easy to do their homework. It’s great that there are now platforms like Studybay where kids can get help with their homework.

1. Set the stage

It’s important to understand, step by step, why your child doesn’t want to do their homework. Start with the physiological nuances. Is he hungry or tired? Is his workplace uncomfortable? Comfort is important for parents to check: a child may think a soft chair and a dinosaur-covered desk are perfect, but poor circulation and unfocused attention keep them from doing their homework.

2. Pay attention to temperament

When should you start doing your homework? Some parents think a child should rest after the school day. Others say: eat and do, and you can go out and have fun when everything is done, otherwise the child will get carried away and forget about lessons. The mistake is that adults decide this at their own discretion. In fact, the most fruitful time for children is different and should be sought out together. And if the child has already finished primary school, they should be allowed to find their own “peak” work capacity. “A lark, according to the biological clock, can do his lessons early in the morning and an owl can do them after dinner.

Temperament, too, is important. Choleric after school should be sent for a walk or do sports so he splash out excess energy. Phlegmatic better leave more time to complete tasks so he could study in a familiar leisurely manner. Melancholic quickly overworked, they have low stress tolerance. They benefit from quiet pleasant activities, relaxation and even an afternoon nap before classes. And it is better to divide the “homework” into small subtasks, after which to take breaks.

3. Remove temptations

Turn off your phone, computer and TV. Don’t talk on your mobile phone next to your student or use a laptop which makes your child think about computer games.

Preferably during this time do not start any interesting activities in which the pupil would like to take part (e.g. baking a cake, if her daughter likes to help).

4. Don’t take on too much.

If all is well on the physical level, problems should be looked for in the psychological mood. And above all… the mum/dad. It’s hard to get your child to be productive if you’re irritated when you’re dealing with them. Mum is often overworked, and helping the schoolchild takes time away from her to recover. Then it is better to check homework less often, but do it in a calm mood.

Sometimes parents are so interested in getting the tasks done faster that they start to do them themselves for the child. But if the mother worries more than the child about the homework, the motivation decreases. It is important not to take responsibility for homework, otherwise the pupil will still think that mum and dad take care of it. Realise that you are just helping and that the result depends on the teacher and the pupil. If your child can’t cope at all, a tutor can help. And if the teacher does not teach well, the pupil has a legitimate right to get answers to questions and explanations after lessons.

5. Get rid of the “ex-schooler” syndrome

Why do parents turn “homework” into a super-valued idea? Why behave as if the lessons are more important than health, knowledge and experience? Perhaps you recall your own childhood fear of the teacher, guilt for not doing your homework, the feeling that everything was “wrong”, but that my child should go perfectly. Decide for yourself why you need your son or daughter’s grades. Maybe you need to accept that everyone has their own abilities and inclinations: in some subjects your pupil will be successful, in others - not, and there is no point in “squeezing” high marks. In the meantime, your child will stop being afraid of homework. Is your child upset or afraid? Some schools humiliate those who have problems with learning, do not give a natural right to make a mistake. Getting rid of your own fear, you can introduce a positive. Any comment on the “homework” do the “sandwich rule”: before and after criticism, talk about the observed “pluses”. No “pluses”? Even an inveterate loser can find neatly written lines, a step in the right direction, or at least an effort expended.

Should there be a reward? That’s up to you to decide. It is better if the reward is not something material, but the time spent together, favorite entertainment. It is better to use such incentives not on a daily basis, but after successful completion of the most difficult tasks or on weekends - as a result of the work for the week.