Back-to-School Tips: Homework Help

School is back in ses­sion, which means back to the week­day rou­tines. Part of your week­night rou­tine may involve home­work. For some kid­dos, home­work can be a strug­gle, cre­at­ing frus­tra­tion for every­one in the house­hold. Lyn­nae Glas­cock, clin­i­cal coor­di­na­tor of pedi­atric ther­a­py at Quin­cy Med­ical Group, offers these help­ful home­work tips:

1. A des­ig­nat­ed home­work sta­tion may improve home­work suc­cess. A home­work sta­tion should be free of clut­ter and nois­es and with­out the dis­trac­tions of tele­vi­sion or video games.
2. Mon­i­tor your child’s frus­tra­tion and atten­tion lev­els and give small breaks when need­ed. The breaks can include snack time, get­ting a drink, or move­ment activ­i­ties and should not last more than five minutes.
   • My favorite move­ment activ­i­ties are ani­mal walks. For a list of ani­mal walks, click here.
   • Jump­ing jacks, pushups, and yoga moves will also work.
3. Con­sid­er your children’s posi­tion as they com­plete home­work. If sit­ting at a table, make sure their feet are rest­ing on the floor or on a footrest. If your child is tired of sit­ting at the table, try hav­ing them lay on their stom­achs and up on their elbows. For read­ing assign­ments, a com­fy chair or bean­bag may be beneficial.
4. Light­ing is also very impor­tant. Make sure the area has prop­er light­ing with­out glare and reflections.
5. If using a com­put­er or anoth­er screen, make sure your child lim­its eye strain and fatigue by fol­low­ing the ​“20÷20÷20” rule. They should take a break every 20 min­utes, stop for 20 sec­onds, and look at least 20 feet away from the screen.
6. Con­sid­er the time of day to do home­work. Some chil­dren per­form the best right after they get home and oth­ers need a snack and drink before they can concentrate.

For more infor­ma­tion on Pedi­atric Ther­a­py ser­vices at Quin­cy Med­ical Group, call (217) 222‑6550, ext. 3418 or click here.