Now that your little one has officially started at school, they’re coming home with their bag full of exciting books and a little chunk of homework. But as soon as you sit them down to get their work done, they see something across the room and rush to examine or play with it.

Eventually, you get them to do some work with the promise of a little treat, but their heart clearly isn’t in it, and after just 10 minutes, you’re both feeling frustrated and tired.

At the end of each homework session, you can’t help but think - Surely there’s an easier way to get your kids to do their homework at home?

And, of course, you’d be right. By introducing a few strategies to your child’s home study, homework will quickly become less of a drag for you and your child. But before we get to those strategies, let’s quickly examine why your help is so important when it comes to studying at home.

Why is it important to help your child study at home?

It’s often very difficult for younger kids to feel motivated and actually do what’s expected of them once they’re outside of school and relaxing on the couch at home. So, it’s up to us parents to motivate them and teach them how to successfully get their work done so they’re set up to work harder and more effectively later in their life.

Now that we’ve covered why your help will prove to be so important, let’s get to the good stuff and find out what you can do to make homework manageable and fun!

How can I help my child’s study skills at home?

Create a child-friendly calendar. Buy your little one a bright and colourful calendar that can be stuck on their bedroom wall or door and then help them to mark in any deadlines, appointments, or activities. Not only will this help them keep track of what’s to come each week, thus helping them alleviate a lot of potential anxiety, but it will also make it easier for you to plan their day.

Make up a weekly planner, including daily checklists. If the calendar alone doesn’t keep them organised, consider getting hold of a weekly planner for your little one, and then help them to fill it in at the beginning of each week. And daily checklists will let you take organisation to a whole new level.

Consider their study location. We all like to work in different spaces and environments. Some of us prefer the total peace and quiet of a library, others prefer to work in the comfort of their own homes with a little music playing in the background. Find out what your child responds well to and then help make that particular study location easily accessible.

Prepare the necessary tools. Wherever they do settle down best to get on with their work, make sure they have all the paper, pencils, glue, scissors, and pens they could possibly need.

Establish some rewards. This is an important one! Children don’t often want to be sitting down, working out maths problems, or reading three whole chapters of the book they’ve been assigned, so they may need a little more motivation than us adults. It could be something as simple as choosing what to snack on whilst they work or receiving 15 minutes of computer time for every chapter they read. Make sure the rewards you establish mean something to your child and act as a true motivator, and remember that they should receive rewards for working hard, not just when they get the answers right.

How to help your child's study skills at home (Part 1)