You may have asked yourself the question, “Should kids have homework? What are the benefits, and is there any harm in daily homework assignments?” While homework can provide additional education to children of all ages, sometimes homework can do more harm than good. Keep reading to learn about the benefits and harm of homework assignments.

Table of Content:

This article is part of The Ultimate Guide to Kids Homework article series

Chapter 1: Should Kids Have Homework? (You are here)
Chapter 2: Why Homework Is Important
Chapter 3: How To Get Motivated To Do Homework
Chapter 4: How To Make Homework Fun
Chapter 5: How To Do Homework Fast

Do kids get too much homework?

Some children and young adults get too much homework. While one study shows that homework helps students succeed in school, another analysis shows that students can become sleep deprived and unmotivated with too much homework.

When you think about the length of time that kids spend at school throughout the week, getting too much homework can push students far beyond a working adult’s 40-hour workweek. When you add on extracurricular activities and possible after-school tutoring, kids can often lose out on much-needed free time to be kids.

Some schools have teachers that work together to ensure that kids aren’t receiving too much homework each night. On the other hand, teachers who don’t coordinate assignments can leave kids with an absurd amount of homework to complete by the next day. The following list illustrates the pros and cons of homework.

Benefits of homework

1. Homework develops good study habits

Students who complete homework every night develop exceptional study habits that can help them succeed in more challenging subjects and higher learning courses.

When a student reaches high school and college, assignments become more difficult. Students who spend time developing good study habits at a young age tend to do better in higher grade levels. In contrast, undeveloped learning habits can lead to additional stress and educational roadblocks.

2. Homework improves grades

Homework can improve the grades of students who don’t do as well on tests. Because homework can make up a substantial percentage of a child’s final grade, doing well on take-home assignments can make up for below-average test scores.

Additionally, completing every homework assignment can reinforce material that students may find challenging. This extra effort to learn new material can lead to higher test scores.

3. Homework involves parents in their child’s learning

Many parents enjoy getting involved in their child’s learning because we all want our children to succeed. Homework assignments can be an excellent way for parents to understand what their children are learning at school, and unfamiliar information can be taught to students by their parents.

4. Homework teaches about responsibility

Homework helps students learn about the importance of responsibility. Besides achieving better grades and doing better at higher education levels, the act of completing assigned tasks teaches kids to be responsible.

These lessons in responsibility can be used in all facets of life, especially when students graduate high school and college, join the workforce, and live on their own.

5. Homework teaches students about practice

Homework shows children the importance of practicing enough to achieve success. Students only remember a portion of what they are taught in class, depending on their learning styles and memory. Homework assignments allow students to work out challenges and problems that lead to solutions.

Children who don’t receive homework are more at risk of falling behind in course matter because they didn’t have the chance to learn and practice on their own time.

Harm of homework

1. Homework reduces family time

Children who receive too much homework can spend hours each night completing assignments, leaving little time to spend with their parents, siblings, and friends. Students who also attend extracurricular activities, sports, and tutoring have even less time to spend with their families. Kids who don’t spend enough time with their families are at risk of developing social problems that may continue throughout their life.

2. Homework can cause conflict with parents

Homework can sometimes feel overwhelming to children, and the primary burdened individual is the child’s parents. Some parents don’t enjoy forcing their child to complete take-home assignments, especially when the child displays significant resistance to doing their homework.

3. Homework can encourage cheating

Cheating can occur at any school and any grade level. Because homework allows students to complete assignments unsupervised by teachers and sometimes even parents, some children seek help from their smart friends.

If a child develops a friendship with another student who doesn’t mind giving them the answers to their assignment, this can encourage children to continue cheating for as long as they can get away with it.

4. Homework causes stress

A school survey showed that 82% of students claimed that they were always or often stressed by schoolwork. Many also reported being sleep deprived and being forced to stop other activities because of the amount of homework they received.

While there are plenty of schools that assign short homework assignments that can be completed quickly, there are still many schools that force children to spend so much time on their homework that they are becoming stressed at an early age. Continuous stress can often lead to depression, which causes students to suffer educationally and socially.

5. Homework is unfavorable to low-income students

Research shows that the homework students are expected to complete is unfavorable to low-income students. Much of today’s homework assignments expect students to use resources like the internet for research, which many low-income children don’t have access to at home.

Even for assignments that don’t require internet research, children who have access to more substantial digital resources at home will have a greater opportunity to finish assignments faster and at a higher quality.

Conclusion

Should kids have homework? While homework certainly has its benefits, too much homework can cause notable harm to students. Teachers who coordinate take-home assignments that allow students to complete their tasks quickly can benefit students greatly.

If your child is spending too much time to finish their homework or becomes stressed out or sleep-deprived, consider speaking with the teacher to find out what can be done to resolve the issue, or spend time with your child to find out how you can help.

Table of Content:

This article is part of The Ultimate Guide to Kids Homework article series

Chapter 1: Should Kids Have Homework? (You are here)
Chapter 2: Why Homework Is Important
Chapter 3: How To Get Motivated To Do Homework
Chapter 4: How To Make Homework Fun
Chapter 5: How To Do Homework Fast