Create a Pleasant Environment

In a 2003 article printed in Educational Psychology, authors Marina Pool, Cees Koolstra, and Tom VanDerVoort found a negative relationship between TV and homework. The researchers noted that students who performed homework in front of the television "performed worse and used more time" than students who did not. Interestingly, the kids weren't watching cartoons, but soap operas! It seems that, no matter what's on, children will be distracted by the presence of outside noise and activity.

Set up a specific study place that's free of distractions like TV or radio noise. Your child's homework area should be quiet, well-lit, and stocked with supplies. Ensure that your child has pencils, pens, erasers, paper, and any other tools that she may need in order to complete her work. A homework space doesn't need to be fancy, just comfortable and quiet.

Show an Interest

Ensuring that your child completes his homework is important, but talking about what he's learning and how it pertains to life will give his homework (and his education) a deeper meaning. Renee Rodabaugh, an elementary teacher with Denver Public Schools, offers parents and students suggestions on working together. "Our district requires that students read with their parents for 20 minutes every night," she says. "I encourage parents to select books with their children, so that they'll be interested in hearing the story. Then, they can have these great discussions about what they've read. So many of my kids come into the classroom and tell me that they read for, say, forty minutes, because they (all) wanted to know what happened next. And parents tell me that they've rediscovered the pleasure of reading, as well!"

Teachers are taught to utilize "teaching moments," those times when learning occurs naturally. These moments work for parents as well. If your child is learning to tell time, you can reinforce her homework practice by watching the clock while dinner cooks. Or simply "think out loud," which offers a child the opportunity to learn without pressure. You may note one morning that, if your child drinks two glasses of milk a day, she's consuming fourteen glasses in a week. Without knowing it, she's learning about multiplication!