Does your child struggle with homework? Kids who strugglewith learning can find homework frustrating and exhausting (as in “tears,excuses, and tantrums” kind of frustrating and exhausting). And of course itonly makes things worse when, for struggling students, assignments meant totake twenty minutes can take up to several hours.

Whether you and your child tackle homework immediately afterschool or a couple hours before bedtime, this kind of recurring routine isexhausting for kids and exhausting for parents, too.

How can you improve the daily homework experience for youand your child? Try following these tips:

Prep yourself

Prepare mentally. Before diving in with your child, take afew minutes to mentally prepare. Decide ahead of time what kind of attitudeyou’re going to embrace, and how you’re going to respond if things get tense ordifficult.

Do a quick self-check. Before helping your child with his orher homework, take a quick self-check. Are you tired? Hungry? Frustrated aboutsomething that happened earlier in your day? If so, take a few minutes to eat asnack, catch a power nap, or do whatever you need to do to decompress. Makesure you are not bringing other frustrations or vulnerabilities into your timewith your child. Homework can be challenging enough without someone bringingunrelated grumpiness to the table.

Practice mindfulness. If you feel your blood pressure startto rise while helping your child with his or her homework, try this. Turn yourattention away from whatever it is your child is doing that is so frustrating,and pay attention instead to what is happening in your emotions and in yourbody. Observe yourself almost as if you were a detached third party. How areyou feeling? Frustrated? Powerless? Defensive? What’s going on in your body?Are you clenching your teeth? Do you feel tension in your hands? Is yourstomach in knots? This kind of mindfulness often diffuses the intensity of whatyou are experiencing and puts you in greater control. What’s particularly coolis that studies show this kind of mindfulness in educational settings reducesteacher burnout, increases compassion, and improves performance in theclassroom. Why not reap the same benefits at home?

Prep your environment

Have what you need on hand. Pencils, paper, scissors, posterboard, markers, calculator… you know the list. When you have study suppliesreadily at hand, it can reduce tension. Homework takes a significant timecommitment as it is. Don’t add to that time by having to spend an hour lookingfor the slide rule, or having to drop everything and run to the store forposter board.

Practice familiar cues. Some kids thrive on routine, and youcan create fun habits that can help your child’s brain take familiar paths tosettling down and being productive. One writer explained that anytime he satdown to write, he wore the exact same ball cap. Before long, his brain beganassociating that ball cap with focused writing, and he found himself able totransition quicker into a state of productivity when wearing it. How about aHomework Hat? Or Lucky Math Pencil? What if you had your child write a list ofaffirmations on an index card and read them aloud every day before tacklinghomework assignments? Affirmations might include, “I can be focused when I needto be.” “I can do this.” “I’m ready to learn.” “I can do more than I think Ican do.”

Try a new setting. Routine is good, but sometimes it canalso help to shake things up a bit, either as a reward for a productive week,or to see if your child actually studies better in a different setting. Howabout a local coffee shop? A picnic table beneath a backyard tree? Dad’sfavorite leather chair? A blanket tent in the living room?

Prep your child

Exercise physically before studying. Exercise is good forthe body and it’s good for the brain, too. Instead of insisting that your childstart his or her homework the moment after walking in the front door, see whathappens if you insist he or she plays outside for an hour first. Studies showthat physical exercise improves thinking and concentration, in the long run andimmediately as well. In one study, for example, researchers discovered thatchildren who walked or bicycled to school had better concentration for fourhours longer than kids whose mothers drove them to school. For that matter,other studies using brain scans show that exercising before an exam hasbenefits, too.

Eat brain-healthy snacks. What are brain-healthy foods?Think good fats, lean protein, and complex carbs. Good fats can be found inomega-3 oils from fish, nuts, seeds, and dark leafy greens. Lean protein can befound in raw almonds, baked chicken, and organic plain yogurt with fresh fruit.Complex carbs can be found in whole grain tortillas, brown rice, and sweetpotatoes. How important are healthy snacks for your homework-wrestling kid?Let’s talk about healthy fats for a moment, shall we? The difference between adiet of healthy, unsaturated fats and a diet of unhealthy, saturated fats ishuge. In fact, in one study, rats on a diet filled with unhealthy fatsdeveloped learning difficulties. Dr. Philippa Norman, writing about that study,explained that “a child eating mostly processed cakes and crackers, Frenchfries and fried meats loaded with trans and saturated fats, will build adifferent brain than a child who is eating broiled fish, nut butter, saladdressings made with olive or safflower oil, eggs and lean meats.”

Stay hydrated. There is simply no way to overstate theimportance of getting enough water. Did you know that dehydration impairs focusand memory, causes brain fatigue and brain fog, and is linked with headaches,sleep issues, anger, and depression? And because water gives the brain theelectrical energy it needs to function, it doesn’t take a huge water deficit tocreate problems.

Study in productive bursts. No dawdling allowed. Guestimatehow long your child can work productively. If it’s ten minutes? Great. Fortyminutes? Even better. Whatever the number, set a kitchen time for that lengthof time. When the timer goes off, take a ten minute break. Do jumping jacks.Visit the bathroom. Get a snack. Do the Hokey Pokey. Shoot some hoops. Now setthe time for another block of study time. Over the coming days and weeks,gradually increase the block of time for productive study. What you are doingis helping your child develop the habit of being present and productive, evenfor short bursts of time. If you don’t teach your child to be intentional aboutbeing productive, it’s all too easy for him or her to develop other habits,like wriggling in the chair, pretending to look busy, procrastinating,complaining, dawdling. By allowing your child to sit at the table and practicewasting time, he or she is reinforcing poor habits. Far better to practicebeing mentally present and productive, even if it is for short bursts of timethat can gradually be lengthened.

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