Shifts to Decrease Homework Battles with Your Child that Struggles to Learn
When children have learning disabilities, dyslexia, ADHD they have been working hard all day at school so when they return home with more work to do there can be "Homework Battles". So keep reading to find out why these battles happen and how you can use this time to support your child in a new way!
Homework. Does anyone have a feeling of dread when they think about that word (from your own experience, or from your experience with your child?). Homework sure can bring up a whole host of emotions, can’t it? From anger to frustration, to confusion, to anxiety, to overwhelm. Homework can be a battle for students in general. Throw in a potential learning difference and the issues can be even greater.
The thing is, it may not always be obvious what is causing those emotions until we dig a little deeper. As parents, we may not “get it” with respect to why our children come to the table already armed with negativity about what they need to get done. However, with some reflection about the ‘why’ and shifts in how you view homework, we can help you to Decrease the Homework Battles with Your Child.
Let’s consider Homework Battles from another perspective. What makes homework hard? Homework battles might partially stem from:
Expectations: the weight of the child’s expectations of themselves, expectations from school and expectations from parents
Understanding: trying to figure out the material as well as what needs to be accomplished
Communication: Communication with the teacher, communication about due dates and communication about the processes that students are supposed to use
Overloaded cognitive resources: kid’s brains are taxed at the end of a long school day
So then, what can we do to help avoid those dreaded homework battles? Is there a magic solution? Definitely not (it would be really nice if there was though!). However, with small shifts in perspective and approach, we can turn homework into a more positive experience for both you and your child (and who doesn’t want that!).
So here are 6 Shifts To Decrease Homework Battles With Your Child with a Learning Difference (read more)
Look for the potential in the homework experience.
Homework can be a great time to check-in with your child and really see how they are doing. When you are able to step inside their learning world, you will have much better insight into the what, how and why of their learning.
Consider homework as an opportunity to fill your child’s toolbox
View homework as an opportunity to see what strategies your child may be using and where they are hitting roadblocks. For example, check in to see what do they do when they are struggling? Do they have strategies to get them “unstuck” or back on track? Could they use a few more tools to help them be more successful?
Use homework as a time to model how to advocate for themselves!
A huge asset to the educational journey is learning how to self-advocate. As you are working with your child, talk through what works and what doesn’t work for them. Self-advocacy is a skill that needs to be developed and fostered through knowledge and understanding! Once they can self-advocate at home (their safe place), it will help them to feel more comfortable to transfer those skills to other environments (like school!).
Model, model, model
Those dreaded homework sessions don’t have to only be about the actual material that needs to be completed; you can use it as a time to help your child to better understand how to get organized (colour coding, chunking information, setting visual reminders, using progress tracking apps etc) and develop routines. Don’t assume that they inherently know how to do these things - teach and model them.
Brain Dump!
Homework sessions can be a perfect time for a brain dump for your child (who doesn’t love a good brain dump!). Provide them with the opportunity to share how they are feeling about certain classes/subjects. Review together what is going well and what they are struggling with. Let them get all of those thoughts out of their head!
Use homework as a time to build your child up
Children with learning differences can sometimes struggle with social relationships, anxiety and self-esteem. This one-on-one homework time can be a chance to fill their bucket (yep, let’s try to fill it right up!). Some tips? Discuss your child’s strengths and use those to help them see how competent (and awesome!) they are. Use positive reinforcement wherever possible. Intentionally work on building their confidence with specific examples of what they have accomplished.
Shifting our approach, and focusing on all of the potential good that can come from homework time can significantly change the emotions that are brought to the (literal and figurative) table! When we look at homework as a time to...
Connect
Assist
Talk
Build confidence
Advocate
Model
Plan
Fill up the toolbox
...then we can help decrease the anxiety, frustration and overwhelm that the traditional “let’s just get the work done” approach can foster.
We hope these tips help you and your child (with all of their beautiful strengths, insights and creativity), to stop those homework battles!
Would you like to dive deeper into learning more about homework strategies? We have a FREE resource - our amazing Homework Battles Masterclass, just click here for access. You will not regret it!