Academic Problems and Skills

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Help your child build better homework habits by teaching them how to plan, manage time, and get started.

Simple strategies can make homework less stressful.

The goal is to help children become more independent, responsible, and confident in managing their schoolwork.

How many times have you heard or asked:

"Did you finish your homework?" "I'll do it later." "Did you study for your test?" "I'm going to." "Have you checked your assignments?" "Yes, it’s fine"

"Did you finish your homework?"

"Did you study for your test?"

"Have you checked your assignments?"

Then you check your child’s grade portal and realize that homework and assignments are missing, or test grades look like there was never any real studying done. Does this pattern sound familiar?

For many families, getting homework completed or preparing for a test or quiz is not just an academic challenge but, rather, a daily struggle involving motivation, time management, initiation or getting started, planning, and follow-through. Parents become frustrated because their children seem capable of doing the work but struggle to get started. Children become frustrated because they feel nagged, overwhelmed, or misunderstood.

When executive functioning skills are still developing, telling a child to "just get it done" isn’t addressing the struggles. Instead, we need to help children learn how to get started, manage their time, work through resistance, and follow a plan, even when they would rather be doing something else.

Here are a few strategies to try with your child or teen:

Find the Sweet Spot of Time to Do the Hard........

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