Lately my phone calls have been increasing from parents wanting to know how to get their kids moving to complete their homework and studying. It’s been my experience that kids avoid or procrastinate because of feeling overwhelmed by the school work. Many kids aren’t aware of this overwhelming feeling and often cannot label it. They’ll just say, “I don’t know why I can’t do it. I just can’t” Parents become frustrated resulting in many occasions dubbing their child as LAZY!
Our book screams the message that your child is NOT lazy!!! There is a reason why your child shuts down, moves to another activity, or avoids the task all together.
As the parent, I want you to think about this. When you tell a child to complete ALL of his homework by dinner time, your child interprets the word “ALL” as completely encompassing. In their minds, it’s as if you are asking them to complete the entire curriculum before dinner. It is this sense of exaggeration, that shifts the child to procrastination.
Change the language and you change the interpretation. If you split the assignments into doable 20 minute tasks with breaks in between, your child can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The homework becomes less of an avoidance because now it is manageable. They no longer feel like it’s the entire curriculum that needs to be completed. Don’t use words like “ all, entire, everything, and must” and replace with “most, try, and comfortable”. The key to this approach is that the child feels empowered and encouraged to complete the task at hand.