Parents want to participate in their children's education by helping them with their homework.

Helping children with their homework will:

• increase family involvement in education
• help parents learn about their children's education such as what they are learning and the work they are doing
• help parents communicate both with their children and the school.
• help children develop good habits and attitudes
• give children a chance to review and practice the subjects they learned in school.
• help children do better in school, and move into the upper grades
• help children become independent learners and users of information.

But sometimes parents have difficulty with helping their kids. Here are some ways to guide the kids to do their homework.

Stages to do homework:

Depending upon the children's age, parents need to monitor their assignments. Usually younger children need more monitoring than older ones, but whatever their age is, if the homework is not meeting the expectations more guidance is needed.

Students might be confused as to what is expected of them, where information can be found and how to use the information. That is the reason they often have difficulty beginning an assignment.

• Students need to understand what the assignment is asking from them. To make sure children understand what the assignment is about, ask them to explain the assignment in their own words.
• Once they know what the assignment is all about they will look for information. Children need to find useful information. Parents can help by discussing sources of information and places where information might be available.
• When the information is found, parents can discuss whether it is relevant to the assignment.
• If the information is relevant then parents can help kids to decide how to use the information. Children will read all the information they find and decide how to use it.
• When children know how to use information then it is time to put all the information together according to the requirements of the assignment.
• When they finish their homework, before they hand it in to their teacher they need to evaluate it. Parents can help them by reading their homework to see if it is meeting the expectation for quality and efficiency.