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7 Ways to Get Your Children to Do Their Homework (No Nagging Required!)

Updated on January 30, 2024 By Daniel Wong 24 Comments

Nagging over homework

Getting your children to do their homework is a struggle, isn’t it?

It seems like everything is more important to them than homework.

Online gaming, social media, watching videos, playing sports… the list goes on.

But it doesn’t have to be a struggle.

In this article, I’ll explain 7 powerful ways to get your children to do their homework – no complaining from them and no nagging from you.

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1. Make it clear that it’s their homework, not yours.

Many parents seem to care more about their children’s homework than their children do. As such, the responsibility shifts from the children to the parents.

But this should not be the case.

After all, it’s your children’s homework, not yours.

Help them to understand that their homework is their responsibility. Feel free to provide help or guidance, but you should never do the work for them.

2. Don’t force them to do their homework.

I can almost hear you saying, “But Daniel, if I don’t force my children to do their homework, they won’t do it at all!”

I know where you’re coming from. But if you implement all the tips in this article, I can close to guarantee that your children will do their homework without coercion.

If you threaten or intimidate them, your parent-child relationship will suffer.

And as the saying goes, “Rules without relationship breeds rebellion.”

I’ve worked with more than 15,000 students so far, and I wholeheartedly agree with that saying.

If you impose rules without nurturing the relationship, sooner or later your children will defy you. Power struggles are unhealthy, whether they’re over food, going to school, or homework.

3. Discuss expectations and consequences with them.

Do this at the start of every term or semester. Don’t just impose your own expectations. Instead, have a calm discussion with your children. This will give them a sense of ownership over their homework, and their education.

These are the key things to talk about:

  • When they’ll do their homework, e.g. the first two hours after they get home from school, after they’ve had 30 minutes to relax
  • Which privileges will be off-limits until they finish their homework
  • The consequences if they violate the agreement
  • “No homework” times, e.g. Friday nights, Sunday morning

During the discussion, be patient and composed. (Easier said than done, I know!)

Remind your children that you’re on the same team as them. You aren’t out to do battle with them.

By adopting this approach, your children will behave more maturely than you expect.

After you’ve all reached an agreement, put everything down in writing. Place the “contract” on the fridge door or some other prominent location in your home, so everyone can refer to it.

4. Don’t micromanage them.

You might be tempted to think that your children will only complete their homework under your supervision.

But it’s possible for them to take full ownership of their homework, such that you don’t need to supervise them at all.

When I was growing up, I don’t recall my parents ever monitoring me or my two siblings as we did our homework.

But we still finished our work and performed well in school.

In addition to Point #3, I’ve found this to be a helpful approach:

Ask your children’s teachers if you can give them a 5-minute phone call once every two months to check on your children’s progress. If the teachers agree to this, inform your children about the arrangement.

Discuss with your children what feedback from the teachers would warrant what kind of consequences.

For example, you might agree that if two or more teachers remark that your children haven’t been submitting their homework on time, then they’ll lose certain privileges. These privileges will only be restored when the feedback improves.

This way, you won’t need to micromanage your children. The pre-agreed consequences will encourage your children to be more responsible. And you won’t have to endure daily homework battles anymore!

5. Create a distraction-free area for homework and studying.

Place this area away from the TV and other distractions. Some families even choose a separate area for everyone to put their phones before bedtime and during homework time. This will prevent your children from being distracted by their phone.

It’s also helpful to establish boundaries, so that your children won’t disturb each other during homework time.

Provide your children with the equipment and materials they need, e.g. table lamp, stationery, desk and chair that are of a suitable size. These will enable your children to concentrate better.

6. Acknowledge their good behavior.

Here’s a rule that applies to all children:

The behavior that you (as a parent) focus on will increase in frequency.

This means that if you acknowledge your children’s good behavior, they’ll display that good behavior more often. But if you nag them about their bad behavior, they’ll display more of that bad behavior in the future.

After all, have you ever successfully nagged your children into changing their bad habits?

Probably not.

So be observant and find opportunities to recognize your children’s good behavior. For example, if you notice that your children did their homework for 30 minutes straight, you could say, “That’s good that you focused on your work for 30 minutes.”

I’m not asking you to shower your children with over-the-top praise. Just acknowledge their good behavior whenever you observe it.

This might seem like an insignificant gesture to you, but it isn’t to them.

7. Do your “homework” at the same time as them.

Show your children that you’re diligent about doing your “homework” too.

When they’re doing their work, you could sort out the family finances or pay the bills. Alternatively, you could read a book, take an online course, or learn a new skill.

Using this strategy, your children will see that homework is important, even as an adult. And you’ll all have more fun when the whole family does their homework together!

The bottom line

Homework is important.

But there are other things that are even more important: Responsibility, persistence, commitment, curiosity, and a love for learning.

Homework is just a tool to reach these larger goals. Keep this in mind the next time you’re on the brink of losing your cool over homework.

As you put the 7 tips into practice, homework time will become more pleasant for both you and your children. Your parent-child relationship will improve, too.

So try out the tips today. What’s there to lose?

An earlier version of this article first appeared on Yahoo!.

Please “like” this article and share it with your friends.

FREE E-BOOK:

16 Keys to Motivating Your Teenager (Cover)

Get your FREE copy of

16 Keys to Motivating Your Teenager.


The e-book has already been downloaded by many thousands of parents, so don't miss out!

Filed Under: Education, Parenting, Teens Tagged With: Popular

Comments

  1. julie says

    March 16, 2015 at 8:10 pm

    My teenage boys can not commit above said! Feel free and welcome your changelle .

    Reply
    • Daniel Wong says

      March 16, 2015 at 10:15 pm

      I’m hoping that the tips will work for your boys, Julie!

      Reply
      • Lorrainne says

        October 8, 2020 at 2:00 am

        hi Daniel
        this is really heplful nowadays my kids are now pulling up their socks so keep up the work

        Reply
      • Madhuri says

        November 18, 2020 at 3:04 am

        Hi Daniel, thanks for good tips, hope this will help.

        Reply
  2. Sambasivam Kunju says

    March 17, 2015 at 8:29 pm

    Bro Daniel, Thank you & keep up with your great work. We as a parents cannot be our own doctors!!! We need someone like your goodself time to time to remind us. cheers! Gods blessings!

    Reply
    • Daniel Wong says

      March 17, 2015 at 9:13 pm

      You’re very welcome 🙂

      Reply
    • Lilly says

      October 4, 2021 at 7:07 pm

      Hi Daniel

      Thank you for the tips, and keep up the great work.

      Reply
  3. SK, Kim says

    April 13, 2015 at 12:48 pm

    Hi Daniel,
    Thank you for your sharing.
    Although i have yet to apply them, i can tell they are constructive and beneficial.
    First, i have to encourage my to let go.
    Need to work on myself first.

    With appreciation,
    SK

    Reply
    • Daniel Wong says

      April 13, 2015 at 1:22 pm

      Hi SK,

      You’re welcome. Wishing you all the best!

      Best,
      Daniel

      Reply
  4. ondoga Geofrey says

    September 20, 2018 at 4:27 pm

    hello Daniel,
    thank you for sharing this article, i hope to apply this seven tips to help my children do their homework without stressing me and nagging them
    God bless you

    Reply
  5. Bharti jain says

    October 20, 2018 at 9:40 am

    Thank you. Very helpful tips.

    Reply
  6. Stephanie says

    October 24, 2018 at 12:20 am

    This is an excellent list of suggestions! Thank you.

    Reply
  7. Milcah says

    November 15, 2018 at 3:35 pm

    This is good Daniels ,may the Lord shower you with blessings

    Reply
  8. Deon Robison says

    January 23, 2019 at 8:35 am

    These sound like great suggestions for getting children to take responsibility for their own homework. I’ll forward this information on to my son. Perhaps he can try these out on my Grandson. Thanks so much. A concerned Gramma.

    Reply
  9. Marjory.Emmanuel says

    April 30, 2019 at 8:31 am

    Thank you Daniel for the powerful tips. Although I am not a parent, I find this is helpful I will discuss this with my parents for my younger siblings.
    Keep up the good work God bless

    Reply
  10. Amy Hayes says

    January 10, 2020 at 3:58 am

    I hope this works for my son he is 16 and he is really struggling. I am very worried he will try to drop out of high school.

    Amy

    Reply
  11. Helen Ali says

    January 28, 2020 at 6:49 am

    Hi, thanks l am inspired, you are doing a great work, l have learn a lot

    Reply
  12. Ritika says

    February 3, 2020 at 2:49 pm

    Amazing tips

    Reply
  13. Tharindi says

    April 21, 2020 at 3:21 am

    Hi Daniel, thanks for the tips. They will be very useful.

    Reply
  14. nandini says

    July 13, 2020 at 9:18 pm

    nice techniques

    Reply
  15. Thomas Ngetich says

    March 22, 2021 at 4:53 pm

    Thanks

    Reply
  16. Robert Henry says

    April 1, 2021 at 6:04 am

    Very fortunate to receive the 7 tips from you. I have not yet put them into practice but I believe when I do they will have positive impacts on my children’s attitude to working independently on their homework.

    Many thanks, Daniel.

    Reply
  17. Phoenix says

    February 9, 2023 at 2:57 pm

    When I was young I never did my homework. In middle school and Elementary, my parents would force me to do homework and I suppose that resulted to me never listening to them ever again. I never did anything they told me to do and barely graduated. If they punished me it didn’t matter, I would still disobey their orders.

    Reply
  18. susmita chakroborty says

    August 31, 2023 at 10:35 am

    It was great to learn so many things . thank you so much

    Reply

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