As a parent, your utmost concern is the health of your child. You will certainly get anxious the moment he is unwell right? You always want to make sure he is fit in all aspects, be it physically, emotionally or mentally. As your child starts to attend school, it is not a surprise that he would be slammed with school tasks. Project deadlines, performance tasks, and daily homework are now his playmates. There might be times where he can no longer his favorite action figure due to a lot of homework. When there’s a little amount of time, he’ll surely choose to rest to alleviate exhaustion. As a kid, is this kind of setup fine? While this is important in school, can this affect the health of your child when done too much? Find out the answer here.
Why do kids need homework?
It is for a fact that homework is essential for your kid’s education. This is because it may improve his grades and augment his knowledge. Below are the possible beneficial effects of homework to kids.
- It helps in upskilling key skills such as problem-solving and time management.
- It helps to reinforce knowledge when students do their homework in the evening.
- It is a good practice to remember information and to train automatic skills as well.
- Parents will be able to get a sight of their kids’ results, with this they can help them level up their knowledge.
When is homework already too much?
Teachers are accountable for the load of tasks he assigns students to accomplish at home. It is important as kids don’t need to stay up late to finish their homework. Well, such deeds must be useful and engaging. Teachers have to put in mind how effective the assignments are. How does a lot of assignments affect kids? These are a few of the effects of too much homework to kids.
It lowers the learning process. Dealing with too much homework often results in a faulty attitude toward education and reduce the general grade of a student. If he spends hours to finish homework, he would not engage to learn additional materials. Loads of homework tend to lower learning other topics vital to a career in the future or even personal life.
It increases stress and wipes out the balance in life. Kids spending their extra time with loads of tasks may increase stress levels and other psychological matters. Students would have a lesser sleeping routine resulting in lower cognitive abilities in the class.
It aggravates social communication. As kids have a lot on their plates, they won’t have time to interact with their friends and classmates. Well, it is difficult to communicate with other people and learn how to settle issues that might occur if one has not enough experience.
It reduces productivity. Kids become overloaded when teachers give too much homework. They do not have the luxury of time to further develop their skills, create interesting projects, solve issues and more.
How is homework bad for child’s health?
There are many means in which homework can negatively affect your kid’s health. These may include:
- Sleep deprivation. Staying up late trying to finish assignments and accomplish projects.
- Stress. Going through the pressure of piled amounts of assignment and strict deadlines to accomplish.
- Poor eating habits. Your kid might be munching on unhealthy foods such as junk food during study time or picking fast food over home-cooked meals as an alternative.
- Conflict with family. Conflict with parents might arise if kids chose to do homework over family time or sleep.
- Disengagement from school. Kids who have too much homework to deal with might face burnout and will not be interested in going the extra mile at school anymore.
How parents can help their kids dealing with too much homework?
Parents are most responsible for their kids’ health and well-being. If you notice that your kid is too engrossed with homework and spends all his time doing it, do not hesitate to fathom the situation and find ways for it.
Find out the problem. To arrive with this, don’t think twice to know first how much homework is a lot for your kid. According to the National PTA, ten minutes is an ideal time for kids to work on their assignments. Say, for example, a first-grader does not have to spend more than ten minutes doing his homework, as such, a second-grader does not have to spend more than twenty minutes. The rule is general in schools and each teacher may have particular requirements.
Take a look if your kid is focused on his assignment. You may sometimes hear your kid saying, “I have too much homework”. Well, before you visit his teacher, and put him all the blame for the trouble, you have to make sure if your child is focused enough on a specific task. It is a normal situation where kids go to their room to finish a task but spend time idling or playing online games. You must limit the diversions and explain to your child that concentrating is the key to accomplish his homework faster.
Read also: How to manage emotional health of-kids
Create a convenient corner and homework routine for your child. You have to ensure that your kids have a conducive place to study if you want him to be productive. There are particular requirements to this in accordance to your kid’s age and demands. It should be comfortable and convenient in the first place. Moreover, find out a specific homework routine as it helps to develop time management and organization skills to result in a completed task.
See your kid’s teacher only if needed. Normally, that your kid has some difficulties with his homework. You may notice that he does not have sufficient skills to accomplish his task in a given amount of time. In this case, your child may need to undergo a supplementary class with his teacher or he may need your help to develop vital skills. Discuss this with his teacher to gain support if he needs help with the learning process.
At the end and as parents, taking care of your kids must be your priority. and you definitely have a very important role in controlling the quantity of homework that your kid must do.
