HOW TO USE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES TO HELP YOUR CHILD IMPROVE:

Homework Completion

Homework completion is pivotal to school success.  Difficulties around completing homework are among the most common complaints of the parents of school-age children.  Problems in homework completion create stress for the child, conflicts between parent and child, difficulties in learning classroom material, and poor grades. 

There are many reasons for kids’ homework difficulties beyond simply not wanting to do it.  These can include boring and repetitive homework, lack of classroom preparation for homework, and exceedingly difficult homework that challenges a child’s self-esteem.  Home-based structures, routines, and stressors can also have a significant role in homework completion. 

It is extremely common for children to experience difficulties in completing their homework effectively.  They report difficulties in sustaining their attention and effort with homework, forgetting to write down homework assignments, or losing instructions prior to taking their assignments home.  Some children report that their homework is too difficult for them to do or display poor time management and planning skills.  The children experience frustration and self-esteem issues when they find homework to be overly challenging. 

Difficulties with homework completion can be seen in children who have poor organizational skills, difficulties in sustaining attention and effort to challenging tasks, and problems in getting started on tasks and managing their time effectively.  Homework difficulties are also seen in children with Learning Disabilities, slow processing speed (which results in homework taking an exceedingly long amount of time), and a lack of structure around homework completion. 

Common indications of difficulties with homework include:

• Forgetting to write down, complete, or turn in homework assignments
• Taking too long to complete homework
• Procrastination, sloppiness, rushed homework

Further information about homework completion can be found in LearningWorks for Kids.com sections on Learning Disabilities, Sustained Attention, Planning, and Task Initiation, and Resources. Digital technologies can be used to support, practice, and enhance homework completion skills at home. Parents are encouraged to utilize children’s strengths, intelligences, and interests to assist them with their homework completion difficulties.  Digital technologies, used in conjunction with parent, teacher, and peer mediation/involvement, may be helpful with the preceding list.