Homework battles | Through a child’s eyes

Does your child ever struggle with homework? Many do. And there’s actually a lot you can do to help. Start by watching this video with your child.
by:
YouTube video

Watch video2

More Through a child’s eyes videos

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’s different about your experience with homework? If there was one thing you could do make homework more enjoyable, what would it be? What’s the one thing I can do to help?

Get advice:

Kathryn Lee: When parents feel frustrated by homework

Read more:

Coping with homework horrors
7 helpful tips for tackling homework with a minimum of tears.

Deborah Tillman: When your child says, “I hate homework!”
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 “I hate homework!”
The Raising Happiness author and child development expert explains two surprising things kids need to focus on their homework.

Explore more about homework:

Does homework really work?
After decades spent trying to assess the value of homework, researchers still argue over the simplest findings.

Video transcript

Eli: “My name is Eli and I’m 9 years old and I’m in third grade. My favorite things are football and other sports. I don’t like broccoli, going to bed early, and homework. Homework’s the worst. I don’t like doing homework because it’s hard and it wastes all your fun time. When I hear my mom say I have to do homework first or then you can’t play video games. I run to my room and then I scream. I’m 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’t 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’t want to do it, but I just feel happy it’s not super hard.”

Mom : “How much is in each group?”

Eli: “Six”

Mom : “Good!”

Eli: “When I finished my first pack of new homework, I said ‘Yes’ I can do it. I can do homework that’s easy for me. All by myself. It makes me feel proud and happy.

About the author

GreatSchools.org 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 — most of whom are also dedicated parents and family members — 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@greatschools.org.