Printable Homework Charts Keep Mom From Pulling Her Hair Out

If you are battling with your kids over doing homework, there is a simple tool that can really help. Printable homework charts have made a difference in many homes and they can work in your home, too.

This premise is amazingly straightforward. Kids, like most adults, need structure. However, most kids do not understand their need for structure and will not institute any on their own. That's normal and where you, as a parent, can really shine.

Helping your student get organized using homework charts is easy. Realize you may have to make tweaks in your system over the first few weeks. Many parents are frustrated with a new system that doesn't work perfectly the first time. Don't fall for that! Making changes over time is called progress and should be celebrated.

Start by sitting down with your child and going over his homework needs with him.

- How many classes or subjects does he have?

- What are the daily assignments that never change; such as daily reading or memorizing math facts.

- Are there days of the week he never has homework?

Use this information to get a feel for your child's homework needs and then head to your computer to get some printable homework charts. There are a wide variety of charts available online; some simple and some quite sophisticated. Take a look at your choices and print some charts out to get started. You can always get different ones later on.

Fill out the homework chart for the first week or month. Consider that this is a new habit for your child and some motivation to stick with the program will probably be needed. This is not so much about grades as about becoming responsible for doing the homework with minimal prodding from you.

Let the homework chart be the 'heavy' or authority on this issue. Explain to your child about this new system designed to help make her life easier (which it will absolutely do if she gets on board with it). Tell her there will be frustrations at first, that's fine, but grown-ups push through frustrations with a decent attitude.

Then get started. Each day point to the homework chart and ask if she has completed it for the day or how far she has gotten. Keep pointing out the natural consequences for not keeping on top of homework and establish your own family consequences for not keeping school a priority.

If you begin this system when your children are young and just starting out with their educational careers, you will find that you don't have any difficulties nagging about homework as they grow. If your kids are older and have already established non-productive homework patterns, then your work will take longer, but you can still get the job done. Let's face it. Adults complain loud and strong when they have to make changes they don't like, so why should we expect our half-grown children to be any different? That's human nature and as parents, we can be patient and show our kids the great skill of changing ourselves willingly and intentionally.

Use printable homework charts in your home to develop strong self-discipline habits and a healthy appreciation for education. Good homework habits are worth their weight in gold over the lifetime of your family.