Should We Help Kids With Homework? Edin. mums say no....

Should we help kids with homework, Edinburgh mums talk about homework


Edinburgh schools are some of the best educational establishments in the country.  However, increasing competitiveness and homework overload are causing some Edinburgh parents to bail their kids out and do their assignments for them. 

Educational experts warn however that this can be one of the biggest mistakes a parent can make when it comes to a child’s longer term educational and life development.  They also worry that we’re raising a generation who simply see education as a limited means to a materialistic end rather than a good thing in itself.

We asked a range of Edinburgh mums for their advice on this most controversial of subjects:

‘I never simply tell my daughter  the answers – no matter how much she puffs and whines. I don’t want to send her the message that someone will always bail her out when faced with life’s challenges. She has to learn to figure things out for herself’.   Amira P., Trinity.

My husband always tries to bully our son into getting homework done.  It creates a horrible atmosphere at home and I’m convinced that this nagging just breeds resentment against education. I’d rather our son found ways to motivate himself and love learning for its own sake’. Mhairi B., Corstorphine.

'My daughter gets very upset because her friends’ parents bribe them to do their homework by offering money or gifts.  If they do well in exams they get offered larger gifts like a new bike.  I believe however that this teaches our kids to work only for compensation.  Whatever happened to just working hard, doing the right thing and enjoying success for its own sake without the need for bribes?’   Bella W., Haymarket.

'As a teacher myself I think it’s vital that parents are fully and actively engaged in what their kids are doing. Knowing when your kids have homework and what the expectations of the teachers are is critical. And offering one to one help/input is really useful.  But parents should never actually do kids homework for them.  It teaches kids that if they baulk at challenges then they get let off.  That’s a very bad message to send.  And marking work that is obviously parents’ work drives teachers mad!   Lizzie V., Murrayfield.

'To be honest, I couldn’t understand why kids got homework at all.  Why on earth couldn’t teachers achieve what was needed within the school day?  But my son’s teacher explained that homework gives kids a chance to work on their own – something they do need to learn.  If a kid is genuinely left alone with an assignment and has only himself to fall back on then he has to find a way to be self-motivated.  Any parent who jumps in and does the homework for their child robs him of that opportunity’.    Leila T., Comely Bank.

'As parents we’re supposed to instill in kids a sense of responsibility.  When you continually rescue them by doing their work for them  (especially when they’ve left it to the last minute) you rob them of the lesson of responsibility. Then they’ll never get to find out there are inevitable consequences for not meeting expectations.  They desperately need to learn these skills for work and relationships later in life. Regularly rescuing kids is a very bad idea.  Iris C., Portobello.

'My kids get far too much homework – more than they could ever manage.  Yes I take the burden off them by helping them with subjects I think are less important so they can concentrate on the really big ones like English and Maths.  The problem is teachers don’t seem to talk to one another and get a feel for how much homework is too much.  As a parent I feel its my job to make that decision in their absence’.   Eileen D., Stockbridge

Have YOUR Say
 

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