How to Get Your Kids to Do Their Homework Without Nagging

Each week we ask readers of our Single Parents Newsletter to send us their suggestions on a given topic. Here's what our readers had to say about establishing positive study habits:

• My son uses a planner to make sure he brings home all of his homework. Throughout the day, he knows to write down what homework he has in the planner. Then, at end of the day, he pulls out the planner and checks off each assignment as he puts the items in his backpack. For awhile, I had to force myself to let him fail and live with the consequences. I decided there would be no running back to school to get forgotten items, and I wouldn't help him with his assignments until he tried them by himself first.
  ~Jill
  
  
• I have a homework poster that I laminate or create from a dry erase board and keep on my fridge. I divide it into sections or squares containing each subject the kids have, and we use it to document all homework they have during the week. It is their responsibility to write in the squares according to each subject. (When they were younger, I wrote in the boxes for them.) If they get it done, they can write a big "X" across the square, and I compliment them on a job well done. If they don’t, they leave the box open with the assignment. Each week, we start new with the next round of assignments to be done. It's a lot of work, but I think of this as training for the real world, so it’s very important to me as a parent.
  ~Jennifer C.
  
  
• When my son was having trouble with math, I had a bunch of work sheets copied for him to do at home. He wasn't happy about it, but he is now very good at math! Also, flashcards are an excellent teaching tool. It may be old school, but it worked on us! Plus, it can be a fun thing also. It's more fun interacting with a human than doing problems on a sheet of paper.^*
  ~Dez
  
  
• We have a regular routine. My son gets to play for awhile after school, and then he sits down to do his homework each evening at 5:30. I find that the consistency really helps. Also, when there's a test cooming up, we spend 15 minutes studying and reviewing the work each night.
  ~J.D.
  
  
• When I was a kid, my mom explained to us what would happen to us if we did not do our homework. She explained that if we really wanted to reach our goals, we'd have to pull our socks up and work for it. Nothing is free in life. Achieving our goals would be hard work, and it would begin with doing our homework. She never nagged or forced us, but she was always there to support, help and assist us in whatever decision we made. I believe it is much easier to get a child to do what is right if you explain why it is that he has to do it, and if you instill a sense of responsibility and love in him.
  ~Meirav H.