Homework: Should parents help? | Baby and Family

            

Child should learn to work independently

Of course, all parents want their child to get high grades. And that's why the urge is often great to sit down to the child, to look over his shoulder, to join in the homework. There is a good reason to resist this: The child does not learn to work independently and learn. But this is exactly what is expected of him at the latest at the secondary schools. For this to succeed, it must make its own experiences. "It is counterproductive to take work off the child and get involved in the work," says Manfred Prenzel. Parents should be approachable, but not always immediately available, just because it is exhausting or boring.

But what to do if the offspring does not understand or continue to know something? "Look closely, why he calls for help," advises Bianca Ederer. Because sometimes children are calling for the parents because they want attention, and not because they can not cope with a task. In fact, homework has to be part of the lesson and should be arranged in such a way that it can be worked on independently by the students. Therefore: signaling confidence to the offspring. "Homework can cost effort and reflection, and they require some work planning," says Prenzel. Children are able to take responsibility for themselves. Parents should therefore also not save praise, if the offspring is getting better at it.

Task not understood? Only cautious help

In fact, if the child does not continue on his own, it is best to first read the question to parents and then explain in their own words. Sometimes that is enough to release the knot in the head. "As a teacher, I would like to see the parents send me a note and point me out," says Bianca Ederer. For them, it is okay if a child leaves a task unedited because it did not understand it.

Taking back yourself, having the child done: That may be difficult at first. But it has a big advantage, as Manfred Prenzel says: "If you interfere less, you will be less upset." There is something else that makes homework much easier: the knowledge that the demands of parents and teachers are usually different. Example sloppiness. "What's sloppy, I decide," says Bianca Ederer. Children feel a lot stronger when the teacher rewrites a page for sloppy writing than when their parents do it. That's better for the mood at home anyway.