by Elaine M. Gibson

Dr. Sylvia Rimm, in How to Parent So Children Will Learn, offers parents precise techniques that will lead their children to be independent learners who know how to succeed in school and in life. Dr. Rimm calls them "habits that facilitate achievement." The fact is, achieving children study mainly at a desk or table in a quiet place although some can listen to music. Underachievers (children who do not meet their potential), have many non-productive study habits.

• Some simply don't do homework.
• Others believe they can study while watching television or lying on their bed with their headset on.
• Some believe that reading something once over IS studying.

• Underachievers tend to do homework only if nagged, scolded, minded, or supervised.
• They complain about homework and avoid quality work.
• Another group of children do homework nightly, if they can sit with their parent and have constant parent attention and supervision. The child believes he can't do it alone and parents fall for the helplessness act.

To turn bad study habits into good ones, begin with a time and a place set aside for school work.

First, find the right time:

Children need to eat a snack after school. This does not include watching television. Once children start watching television, they become passive and they stop thinking. A simple rule of homework (or reading) before television can change a bad habit into a good one. If children can eat a snack and play (physical activity, not video games) for a while, they will be energized.

At least part of the study time should come before the evening meal. If homework is put off until late in the evening, quality will not be possible. Homework must be finished before television, with no exceptions.

The amount of time depends on the age of the child and past performance. Dr. Rimm suggests elementary school requires 30 minutes to one hour. Middle school children need one hour to one and a half hours. High school students may need two to three hours per evening. If a child has no assigned work, time should be spent reading.

Second, find the right place.

A place to study is equally as important as reserving time for study. Certain places provoke conditioned behaviors. We are conditioned to relax in front of a television. We are conditioned to sleep on our beds. We can condition ourselves to learn by studying at the same quiet place every day. Children need a table or desk to work at every day. Coffee table students will complain at first, but they'll get used to a new, productive way to study when forced to comply.

The place should be away from parents or parents should keep away from the place. It is too easy to beg for help and whine if Mother is standing close by. Dependent learners need to be separated from parents and forced to try solving problems on their own. Of course parents can help, but not too much.

Under no circumstances should parents sit with their children night after night to do homework. Parents can answer questions only if children have made a determined effort to work on the material on their own. (If this is a consistent and serious problem, investigate things like Attention Deficit Disorder. One on one attention helps these kids focus and the lack of attention makes completion of work impossible.)

Refuse to help a child who has not read the directions out loud to himself at least three times.

Refuse to help a child who can not show you his attempts on paper.

Refuse to help a child who wants to know the answer and not the method.

Refuse to argue with a child about homework.

If there is a problem, have the child call the teacher.

How to help children with homework

To help a child, explain one example. Allow the child to complete an example to check for understanding. Then send the child back to their desk to complete the work.

Parents can certainly take an interest in homework and monitor completion and quality. There is no need for parents to check homework or correct it. Homework is between a child and the teacher. The teacher needs to know what the child does or does not understand. There is no need to know what the parents can do.

For underachievers, parents will have to provide a great deal of structure in the beginning. It is okay to show a child study strategies and techniques. It may be useful to show a child how to break a large assigment down into manageable steps. The responsibility, however, must stay with the child.

Parents create students. Capable, independent learners are no accident. We can help our children learn. When a child has learning disabilities or requires medication to focus and concentrate, the work must be appropriate and homework must be finished while the medications are working. The same habits however can be learned by any student.