Tip of the week: How to help a kid with homework

Don’t demonstrate. If your child is struggling with an assignment, resist doing it for him. Instead, have him explain, step by step, how he thinks he might work through it.

Avoid saying “wrong.” This one word halts a child’s thought process and “puts you in control.” Instead say, “I see what you’re thinking, but let’s try it like this.”

Don’t praise intelligence. If you tell your child how smart she is when she gets something correct, you’ll “set her up to think she’s no longer smart the next time she fails.” Better to applaud how much she’s learning, and to help her see how new skills can be used in the real world.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Forget modesty. If you struggled with a subject back in your youth, keep it to yourself. Sharing such information can reduce your child’s self-confidence and faith in your ability to help.

Source: Men’s Health