Homework Doesn't Have to Be a Hassle

Decide on a time to do homework and stick to it.

For most, the best time is after a drink and snack (not dinner) and before anything else.
But there were two nights a week when they had after school activities or play dates. What do you do then? Firstly I suggest you minimise after school activities and play dates to two nights a week. If your child is doing more than they may well be too tired to cope properly with school work.
If given the chance children will want to do tennis, gymnastics, music lessons, soccer, ballet, horse riding and every other activity available.

After all, they're all fun and offer new experiences.

Also you probably want your child to try these different activities. But not all in one year! (Apart from the expense.
.
.) So decide on two nights a week for activities.
If you have more than one child try to organize that they do the activities on the same night -and you have other people -good use of friends and possibly family, to get them to the other activity.
So on activity (play date) nights, you need to make sure the maximum homework is done the night before so no last minute panics.
This will hopefully mean less homework left for those nights when you do have activities.
Then the key on any evening - is deciding a start time and a finishing time.
Most parents let their children do homework until it's completed but this encourages procrastination, which morphs with tiredness and leads to those disastrous melt downs. So how long should a child do homework for? It totally depends on your child's age and the type of expectations at the school.

But I would hope that any child at primary school could complete all homework in an hour to an hour and a half.
If not, I expect they are either used to procrastinating, have become too much of a perfectionist or need support as they might not be coping with the work.
So by you setting time limits, it quickly lets you know which category your child falls into.

Any child finishing within the allotted time can of course stop -although keep an eye out for hurried, careless work which isn't going to gain them good marks.
Make sure your child has space to do homework. If they like being with you in the kitchen -fine but they should not be trying to do homework on a cluttered table.

And if they like to do it in their bedroom, sitting on their bed is not the most conducive way to write and concentrate.
If you're helping your child, be aware of their best way of learning.

Is he an auditory, visual, kinaesthetic (likes learning by touching, doing, experiencing) or a child who learns through reading and writing? When you've found out (I have some questions which help explore people's preferred styles), then as a parent, see how the homework has been presented and try to suggest other ways of learning the same information.

This takes time as a parent but may be worth it. TV and playing on the computer time, has to be earned! So no automatic switching on the TV which distracts from homework. If your child completes within the allotted time let them know this earns them TV or computer time.
Hopefully by following these tips, your child will stay motivated, have a good healthy balance between school and home life, and will succeed academically.