Maybe they’re concerned about what a teacher will think, or that their work won’t measure up to a friend’s. ![]() There are all kinds of reasons kids avoid doing their homework. Students in our classes-and our own kids too, just like many of us adults-have found every which way to put off sitting down to tackle the one thing they know they need to get done. If you’re worried that your child is the only one in her class who takes ages to get started on her homework, fear not. Therefore, it’s important both to address why students are procrastinating-what’s upsetting them about the work at hand-and to give them practical tools to manage their time and set priorities. Unfortunately, avoiding assignments usually lowers students’ self-esteem and makes them dislike the topic that much more, resulting in a vicious cycle of procrastination. Kids who procrastinate almost always do so because they have negative associations with or feelings about a particular task. This post was excerpted from Freireich and Platzer’s new book.īecause most of us are programmed to focus on present rather than future fulfillment, it’s easy to put off something we dread. This understanding will be crucial to helping her transform these habits into more effective ones. Easier said than done, to be sure, but try to work with your child to identify not only how but why her homework habits are suffering. Having tolerance for challenges will allow her to approach future frustrations from a more positive perspective. Try to model understanding, even when you’re upset. Help her make a realistic plan to manage her time. So instead of admonishing your procrastinator, take a deep breath and try to figure out how she’s going to manage the tasks at hand. ![]() In our experience as teachers, tutors, and parents, the students who feel terrible about procrastinating are more likely to have anxiety and negative feelings that will only fuel their continued procrastination. While reprimanding your child for not having started her homework earlier may be your natural instinct, in the midst of stress, it will only make her shut down or lash out. The large majority of us, however, are stuck at home alone, trying to stave off our own breakdowns in the face of our children’s. Some parents manage to guide their kids through these moments with relative ease. People are told that students should have “ grit.” They should “ learn from failure.” But it’s hard to know how to implement these ideas when what you really need is to support a kid who has a chemistry test and two papers due in the next 48 hours but seems to be focused only on Instagram. So much of the homework advice parents are given is theory-based, and therefore not entirely helpful in the chaos of day-to-day life.
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