How To Get Your Kids To Do Their Homework

Let the kids feel they’re somewhat in charge by giving them the choice of when to do their homework—before dinner, after dinner, or half before and half after.

Be available to answer questions or help with problems, but don’t make homework time even more painful for your kids by hovering over them, judging everything they do.

Cut out anything that will distract them from doing their work, even if that means you can’t watch TV or chat on the phone during homework time.

Be generous with praise—including offering kudos for simply doing the homework without carping about it. Young children in particular respond well to praise.

Give them role models to look up to—people who did their homework, like Einstein and Marie Curie.

Offer incentives for getting homework done consistently, like clothing, a video game, a family trip to an action park, or permission to go to a concert or party they’re dying to attend.

Point out how the skills they are learning now will help them in the future. For example, tell your would-be actress daughter that she won’t be able to memorize her lines if she’s not a stellar reader.

Set up occasional study dates with friends. While each student’s work should definitely be their own, studying with a friend can make homework more palatable.

If nothing is working, try reverse psychology. Stop trying altogether and let your kids discover the consequences of not doing homework. Just be welcoming when they come crawling back.