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It's a fact that children perform better when parents support them and help them with homework. If you're not sure how you can help your kid, read these tips.

Top 10 Homework Help Tips for Parents

If you're a parent, you probably understand what it's like when you've had a long day at work and come home only to see your child sitting over homework for a few hours already. Why do home assignments puzzle kids so much? Usually, the reason is the lack of attention in a class or in the teacher's inability to explain the task.

Anyway, there's really nothing much about it - you can help your child knowing the following tips:

1.    Motivate them to do homework earlier

It's okay to set certain limits and time frames for your kids to be able to deal with homework on time. For example, set the latest time they can get down to doing home assignments after they had some rest from school. By the way, allowing your children to enjoy some free time after classes is a good idea. Don't be too strict - let them have fun and refresh so that they could start doing homework with renewed vigor. But make sure they won't remember about undone math assignment at 9 p.m.

2.     Be understanding

Sometimes home tasks are really complicated, making even parents feel awkward. When you and your child read the task and he or she seems to misunderstand it, that's a risky moment. Kids are very sensitive and may get easily disappointed if they don't understand something. That's because they are afraid to be thought of as stupid. So, for you as a parent, that's a perfect moment to build trust and show your understanding. Try to get into your child's shoes and see where the problem of misunderstanding is. Explain the task and start doing it together. Your kid will appreciate that.

3.     Praise your kid

"I knew you could do it!", "Well done!", "You've done a good job!", "That's the way to go!" - use these and similar phrases to support your little ones and show that you're proud of them. It's even a better idea to make your praise more specific, for example: "Look how well you have managed with this part" or "Wow, this essay is much better than the one you have written yesterday". When your child can't cope with the assignment, don't start acting aggressive and blaming them for that. Being praised is very important for kids, especially when they feel that they can't do their homework.

Teachers always assign homework that will back up the information discussed in a classroom. So, if your child struggles with the assignment and it seems like there's nothing you could praise them for, you just need to help them remember what they have studied in school that day. Having recollected the program of the lesson, they will easily understand and get everything done.

4.     Don't breathe down their neck

If you want to help your kids with homework, don't push on them too hard. Instead, give them enough freedom. If they think that using the Web for information and online help in addition to parent help is reasonable, let it be. For example, let them use writing services like 10pagepapers.com - you can help your kid order essays there and use them as examples in writing. Writing services like that one offer papers written by professional writers with experience. This way, parents won't need to worry if they have lost their ability to write good essays, which they had had during school and college years.

5.     Create the right atmosphere

A lack of concentration is a common problem for all people, and for kids in particular. Usually, it is hard for your little one to focus on the home assignments in their room because they seem this place as the place where they play and have fun. A great way to change the scene is to let your kid do the homework in your office. You should explain that your office is a place where you do serious things, and you will see how this will affect them - kids get more concentrated and start treating such an activity as writing assignments more seriously. 

6.     Teach your kids to plan

The older your children become, the more complicated and serious home tasks they get. When there's a large project to do, it's time to show your kid how to divide the work into pieces and work on them effectively. You can decide which steps you need to undertake and write them down together. Then plan the work considering the time frames and the due dates. Using a calendar would be very convenient for such purposes. Actually, you and your kid can create a timetable for all the activities, including music classes, baseball practice, and homework in all subjects. 

7.     Let them complain

It's okay if your child feels lazy and avoids getting down to work by all means. Kids get tired in a class a lot, especially when a teacher gives new information. They feel that they have already worked much and they may be afraid that they won't manage with homework assigned based on new material. That's when you need to let them be honest and show their feelings. You can do that using such phrases: "You look upset. Are you tired?" or "Wow, this assignment looks really complicated. But I'm sure we can handle it together". As soon as your child shares the emotion and feels understood, he or she will be able to concentrate on homework better. Besides, kids are more likely to listen to you when they see that you understand them and care about them.

8.     Stay in touch with teachers and parents of your child's classmates

It's important to have other parents' contacts so that you could call them when there are some questions concerning the assignments. If your kid forgot to write down the task or wrote it down incorrectly, you can also get in touch with the teacher. Besides, staying in touch with the teacher, you can ask for weekly assignments so that you and your child could make up the timetable more effectively.

Keep up the feedback from teachers about your child's performance is also useful. Thus, you can know more about the ways your little one learns best and about possible problems he or she has so that you could work on them outside the classroom.

Helping your kid with homework is not only good for his or her performance in school but also good for a family relationship. When you do it together, you get a chance to spend some quality time with your little one and build mutual trust. So, don't neglect this chance, using excuses like "someone has to make the dinner" or "I'm too tired after work". Don't be a strict parent or a bad cop - be a friend and a leader.