Homework battles | Through a child’s eyes

Does your child ever struggle with homework? Many do. And there鈥檚 actually a lot you can do to help. Start by watching this video with your child.
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In the video, Eli says he feels, “tense and red and frustrated” by his homework.

Ask your child: Do you ever feel like this boy does? What鈥檚 different about your experience with聽homework? If there was one thing you could do make homework more enjoyable, what would it be? What鈥檚 the one thing I can do to help?

Get advice:

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Deborah Tillman: When your child says, 鈥淚 hate homework!鈥�
The star of America’s Supernanny tells parents to use this firm-but-creative approach to make sure your kids do their homework.

Christine Carter on 鈥淚 hate homework!鈥�
The Raising Happiness聽author and child development expert explains two surprising things kids need to focus on their homework.

Explore more about homework:

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Video transcript

Eli: 鈥淢y name is Eli and I鈥檓 9 years old and I鈥檓 in third grade. My favorite things are football and other sports. I don鈥檛 like broccoli, going to bed early, and homework. Homework鈥檚 the worst. I don鈥檛 like doing homework because it鈥檚 hard and it wastes all your fun time. When I hear my mom say I have to do homework first or then you can鈥檛 play video games. I run to my room and then I scream. I鈥檓 a different person when I do homework. When I think about homework, I feel tense and red and frustrated. I would grab the piece of homework and I would throw it, and then I would step on it and rip it. I felt bad about myself because I ripped up homework and I felt like I wasn鈥檛 going to be smart when I grow up. My Mom told my teacher that this homework is too hard for him, and then we got the new homework. Well, I still don鈥檛 want to do it, but I just feel happy it鈥檚 not super hard.鈥�

Mom : 鈥淗ow much is in each group?鈥�

Eli: 鈥淪ix鈥�

Mom : 鈥淕ood!鈥�

Eli: 鈥淲hen I finished my first pack of new homework, I said 鈥榊es鈥� I can do it. I can do homework that鈥檚 easy for me. All by myself. It makes me feel proud and happy.

About the author

黄色app is a national nonprofit with a mission to help every child obtain a high-quality education that values their unique abilities, identities, and aspirations. We believe in the power of research-backed, actionable information to empower parents, family members, and educators to help make this happen. For 25 years, the GreatSchools Editorial Team has been working to make the latest, most important, and most actionable research in education, learning, and child development accessible and actionable for parents through articles, videos, podcasts, hands-on learning resources, email and text messaging programs, and more. Our team consists of journalists, researchers, academics, former teachers and education leaders 鈥� most of whom are also dedicated parents and family members 鈥� who not only research, fact check, and write or produce this information, but who use it in our daily lives as well. We welcome your feedback at editorial@great黄色apps.org.