[Guest Post] Top 5 Ways To Get Your Kid To Do His or Her Homework

by | Aug 24, 2011

How to help with homework richsinglemomma.comYou’ve heard it all before: the whining, the excuses, the yelling, and the crying about doing homework. (And that’s just from the parents.) There are many opinions about the best ways to get your child to do their homework; here are a few from a long-time mom.

1. Empower Your Child. It’s not your homework, it’s theirs. Do not do the work for them. If they refuse to do their work, let them find out the consequences at school the next day. This doesn’t mean that you ignore the situation, but don’t be an enabler. Make homework your child’s responsibility.

2. Teach Time Management. See when each assignment is due. If one is due tomorrow, they should do that one first. If there are multiple assignments due tomorrow, start with the most difficult subject first, and get it out of the way. Long-term projects can be completed over a longer period of time. For example, if a report is due in 8 days and it will take 2 hours to complete, work on it every day for 15 minutes.

3. Lighten Up. Just because you studied a certain way, doesn’t mean your child has to do it the same way. If they are doing well and they feel more comfortable doing math in their bean bag chair, so be it. If you allow them to choose the way or the place they study, they may be more cooperative. Adversely, if their study environment is detrimental, change things up a bit.

4. Listen to Music. Music raises a person’s mood and energy level. It may be difficult for your child to work in silence. Suggest that they turn on the radio or listen to music on their MP3 player. Using headphones could help block out any distractions. And let them listen to their music, regardless of how you feel about it.

5. Take a Break. Use short breaks as incentives to getting work done. If your child has multiple assignments to complete, suggest that she take a 5-minute break after each one is done. Don’t let the break stretch out so long that they get involved in some other activity. Just let her stretch, get a drink, or play with the dog for a few minutes, then get back to work.

Try to look at homework as a routine task, not a mountain that must be conquered every day. Spend some time teaching your child new habits and build on their successes. Stop arguing and start enjoying.

This article was brought to you by award winning teacher, Chaunna Brooke. She regularly blogs about child behavior and discipline. Chaunna helps parents make a dramatic change in child behavior even if nothing else has worked before. Be sure to check out some of her parenting tips on Facebook.

Uncomfortable in Your Life? Change It!

by | Aug 4, 2011

by Alicia Edmonson

As the start of a new school year approaches, I am readying myself to whip out my trusty pre-school year to-do list. School physical? check. Dental check up? check. School supplies? check. School clothes? check.

Now I don’t know about your kids, but mine grow like there are endless resources in our clothing budget.

Just the other day, I was looking at my oldest son’s shoes which are well worn in the toe. ‘You need new shoes huh?’ I stated, more to myself that to him. ” Yeah, my toes are squished, it hurts” he replied and then ran off to play. My mind soon drifted off to the other nuances of the day. My mind drifting from one thing to the next, a seemingly endless list of tasks I needed to complete.

 

Have you ever felt ’squished’ as my 6 year old so eloquently put, in your life? You know what I’m talking about. That uncomfortable feeling, that sense of not being settled; of not feeling content.

 

I have experienced that feeling on more than one occasion. Most recently was when I began my journey with life coaching. I suddenly felt out of place just about everywhere I went. Here I was with this ‘new awareness’ and I felt that others just simply didn’t get it. I hadn’t yet learned how to navigate in a world of darkness as a light-worker.

I felt most out of place at my ‘day job’. I began to feel very uncomfortable and unhappy. This began to concern me. I was very confused and perplexed as to why this was happening.

One evening during a session I asked, ‘why this is happening?’ The answer came, ‘Because you asked for it’. Huh?!?!?! OK… After I picked my jaw up from the floor I took time to listen. I realized this area of my life was uncomfortable because I have outgrown it.

 

I prayed for a way to be my own boss, help others, and use my life experiences and gifts to help others to heal. How else would I have been motivated to change, had I not been uncomfortable in my work situation? I was so uncomfortable, that I began to make changes and set goal to change my situation.

So if you are uncomfortable or unhappy in some aspect of your life perhaps this is a nudge from above, a tap on the shoulder from God telling you it’s time to move on.

 

Is your job driving you crazy? Change it. Go back to school. Start a business. Are you tired of the hairstyle you’ve had for 20 yrs (yes I’m talking to you Mom). Try something new.

 

The bottom line is life is so precious and short, way too short to be unhappy, so find what makes you happy and DO IT!