I confess – I have been guilty of doing my children’s homework. I designed and helped create a number of their projects when they were in the early years. I have “edited” a few speeches when they were in primary school and I have read my fair share of poems and plays in an attempt to understand their essays. But now that they are in their final years of high school, they have left me well and truly behind. I can’t remember all the language techniques. I never really understood calculus and although I am now far more interested in history than I ever was at school, they are still way ahead of me.
But the help I can provide is still extremely valuable. I can create an environment that makes it easy for them to study by:
- Keeping the background noise to a minimum
- Preparing their favourite meals during exam time
- Letting them dictate the timing of meals
- Having snacks on hand
- Being available for a good chat during study breaks
- Keeping their phones away from their rooms while they’re working
- Encouraging excercise
- Normalising their emotions when they are feeling overwhelmed
- Constantly buying stationary
- Setting up study timetables
- Insisting on reasonable bedtimes
- Accepting the times when they are unable to work
- Helping them set realistic goals, and
- Reassuring them that there are many pathways to success
