WASHINGTON 鈥� At the start of the year, what parent doesn鈥檛 want their child to do their very best?
Whether that鈥檚 with homework, in a specific subject, or on the SAT and college applications, a new year of school brings a chance to refresh. It鈥檚 a time to keep things going if the summer kicked off on a high note, or to hit the reset button if you just managed to make it over the finish line as last year closed out.
But here鈥檚 the tricky part: You鈥檙e not the one who has to go to class and do the work (and thank goodness because it鈥檚 been way too long since long division and Shakespeare).
You want to help, but you don鈥檛 want to seem like you鈥檙e micro-managing. You want to give them space, but you don鈥檛 want to find out about the yet-to-be-started quarterly project report the night before it鈥檚 due. And ultimately, you want them to get the most out of their education, but that鈥檚 not the easiest thing to convey to a teenager.
So when it comes to supporting your kids this year, it shouldn鈥檛 come as a surprise that most parents struggle to find the balance between helping too much and not enough.
How involved should I get?
When kids are young, in the early grades of elementary school, it鈥檚 OK to sit with them and help when needed. Young children simply require a bit of hand holding, and that鈥檚 OK to start out. But as they get older, a good rule of thumb is to take a bit more of a measured approach.
First, be sure they know what they actually need to do for homework. Walk them through the process of pulling out their binder or homework folder, or logging into their teacher鈥檚 website, and looking at what they have due the next day.
Then, help them get started to be sure they understand the first few problems. This is the part of the process with the highest chance of drifting focus and procrastination, so get them off on the right track and you鈥檒l have a much better chance of them being able to complete their work independently.
And let them do just that. Once they鈥檝e started, walk away so that they have the opportunity to do it themselves. This will help build the skills and confidence they鈥檒l need as they progress and eventually move into middle school, where the assignments become more rigorous with less teacher assistance.
How do you know if your child needs a little more help?
Typically, kids do OK in the first quarter, because much of the material in those first few weeks is review. But when new material is presented, it鈥檚 common to see problems crop up.
Sometimes your kids will ask you for help when they get stuck. And if this happens in your home, it鈥檚 a good sign! It means that your child cares enough to get your opinion.听So when you find yourself in this situation (e.g. your sixth grader is frustrated because she just doesn鈥檛 understand how to set up ratios in math)听there are three ways you can respond:听
Option 1:听鈥淗oney,听let me show you how to do this. First,听set up the fraction like this and then you make sure the numerator 鈥︹��
But inevitably when you take this approach you hear, 鈥淢om, that鈥檚 not the way Mrs. Smith says to do it!鈥�
Option 2:听鈥淪uzie,听I already went to sixth grade. This is your homework, not mine.鈥�
This brash appeal to their sense of responsibility might feel good听at the moment,听but if you want your child to come to you later听on when he or she needs support,听you鈥檙e probably doing yourself a disservice by playing the it鈥檚-your-job-to-figure-it-out card.
Option 3:听鈥�These ratios can be tough.听Are there examples from your notes or do you have a similar problem like this in your book?鈥�
So what鈥檚 the best approach?
You guessed it 鈥� Option 3.听
This is the best approach to take because you鈥檙e leading your daughter to the answer without telling her what to do.听And in the process, you鈥檙e helping her figure it out on her own, which is a skill she absolutely needs to have in sixth听grade听and through middle and high school.
ABTA (Always Be Thinking Ahead)
The bottom line is that you always want to be thinking ahead.
How can I best coach (not nag and micromanage) my child to be independent and self-motivated?
Ultimately, you want to support your child to develop the ability to figure things out on his or her own, but with a support network 鈥� you.
Instead of focusing on grades (straight As or As and Bs), put the focus on getting started on homework at a reasonable time, keeping the study area organized and having a system for studying.
And by focusing on the process in this way, the outcome (a well-rounded report card) will take care of itself.
Ann Dolin is a former public school teacher and the founder and president of听, which helps students throughout the D.C. area. She鈥檚 the author of the award-winning books 鈥淗omework Made Simple鈥� and 鈥淎 Parent鈥檚 Guide to Private Schools.鈥�
