Homework can be a frustrating time for any parent. This is especially true if your child has ADHD or learning disabilities. Here I share some times I have gained from first hand experience that make homework time a lot easier and enjoyable. Good luck!!

For many of us parents, homework time can be a very frustrating part of the day. This is especially true for those of us who have children with ADHD or learning disabilities. How can you work with your child to make homework time easier? I call it the 3 R’s — Routine, Reward and Relax!!

First, if you can, meet with your child’s teachers with you child at the start of the school year. Present a united front and lay out expectations for the year and explicitly offer advice and options if the child is having trouble with the material (age appropriately). Set up a system to regularly communicate with the teachers. We use a communication notebook that goes back and forth to school every day.

2. Make homework a daily routine – at the same time and the same place. Make sure the environment is comfortable and appropriate and aids concentration and productivity. We use our kitchen table and make sure that we have all the materials on hand that we will need. We also make sure that no one else is in the room!

3. Set up a short term reward system. Points, poker chips, pretend money, stickers or something immediate for that day such as TV time or game time are all a good basis for a reward system. Children with ADHD are highly motivated by short term rewards which could be daily or weekly. Develop a system that works best for you and your child.

I have found with my son that the more visual the reward system, the better it works. Post it somewhere on your refrigerator or anywhere where it is in plain view. It reminds your child of what they are working towards.

4. Break down the homework into smaller tasks with breaks in between. Plan with your child what is to be done and when break are to be taken. Plan together what the activities will be during the short, timed breaks. Even within subjects, break down the homework into smaller, more manageable pieces. For instance, for math homework, only show one column of problems at a time.

5. When and if you child reaches a frustration point, take a break but make the break explicit. “You seem like you are getting frustrated. Let’s go take a break for 5 minutes and then come back to the work refreshed.

6. When homework is finished, have your child organize it and put it away in their back pack so it is ready to go for the next day.

7. This is a good time, too, to plan for the next day. Lunch, snacks and outfits are all next-day tasks that can be taken care of so that the morning routine is easier.

8. As your child gets older and more independent, transition from homework helper to homework coach. A homework coach helps with planning for homework and projects, discussing what needs to be done and offering guidance on breaking the tasks down, and offering encouragement.

So remember, it is Routine, Reward and Relax!! I hope your nights of homework go smoothly. Until next time …. take care.

Karen