I often hear that homework time can be a painful time for parents and children.
I’m Carly Schrimpl, owner of Power Within Child Therapists and in this article, I’m going to share with you 3 tips on how to teach children task management skills during homework time.
Tip #1: Have a snack before homework
Independence seems to be something children are seeking earlier and earlier ( along with the weird skin care routines so young). It is important to help children develop a sense of agency with their routines so that they are setting themselves up for success! Involving your child to create their tasks for the morning routine can feel empowering.
For those children who want to do it on their own, they can create a task list to keep themselves on track to get out the door on time, or others love to use the Brili app or Finch! This is an application where children can be reminded by their tablets and phones for task management. It can take the pressure of the reminders from parents and children get stars or rewards when they complete tasks. A healthy hit of dopamine in the morning to start your day!
Tip #2: Move the body for 30 minutes prior to sitting down
Moving your body gets the chemicals going. When you have those feel good chemicals you can acquire more motivation and it is not as hard to sit down for extended periods of time because your blood is flowing.
Tip #3: Make a plan for execution
This is where you can teach your child how to problem solve. You sit down and look at all the tasks for homework and then a plan on how to complete it. It could be like, I am going to do math first, because I love it, get a rush. Celebrate then do something more challenging, complete it, celebrate it and one tick off the list! This strategy provides a healthy amount of dopamine for completion along with another if you give yourself things to look forward to after each task.
Bonus tip: The Pomodoro Method
Love this strategy! It is where you work deeply for 25 minutes then take a 5 minute break.
The break usually involves getting a beverage, a small treat like a lollipop, lifesaver, or watching a YouTube clip or a fun game of hide and seek, or jump rope push up challenge, jumping jack challenge to name a few. This method is used for people with executive functioning issues, and thanks to smartphones, basically most people are having executive issues because screens normally catch our attention and we can all be victims of a scroll, or an endless binge show. You can set a timer for 25 and then devote that time to the task.
Homework time does not have to be a power struggle. It can be a way to teach children how to manage their time, tasks, and develop an understanding of how to learn.
If you need more help managing the stressful moments in your home, reach out to us today!
