← Homework, Without the Fight · Lesson 1 of 3
Let them steer
More parent help is not always better. A large review of the research (Pomerantz, Moorman and Litwack, 2007) found that how parents help matters as much as how much.
Help tends to go well when the child stays in charge of the work: you ask, they decide, they hold the pencil. It tends to go badly when the parent takes over, checks every line, or does the hard part.
Your child is stuck on a maths question. Which kind of help keeps them steering?
A lesson is kept once you've answered the question and written at least 8 words. Nobody grades it; it stays on this device.