Homework help for son...?

Question

My son is just turning 13. He has always been an A student and a well rounded kid. There is one problem we can't figure out...he takes hours to do his homework! He can sometimes take 5 or more hours for a few subjects. My husband says I should give him a time limit, but if he is doing so good in school, why should I stop him from finishing his work?? Plus I've tried that and my son almost starts crying because he's not finished yet. He doesn't watch tv, listen to music, etc while doing homework. He is just slow at it I guess??? Any suggestions? I'm afraid when he gets to high school, he'll be up to 2am!!

Answer 1

If he need time, he just need it. In high school I was staying sometimes all night to finish all my works, because I like to be best, and there is nothing wrong with that. He will find his way, just give him that freedom to do the best. If you make such demands to speed him up, that can be destructive, because love of learning is closely connected with curiosity, and time is needed for every research.

Answer 2

NOOOO! He is taking his time to make sure he is getting all of his work right. That is good he is anal. My mom says i take a lot of time doing my homework but i have never had a B on my report card. it's been straight A's all my life.

Answer 3

Your son has all the ingrdients to be be a successfull student and person in life. If he is able to complete  his task - good , but he needs to be able to complete his task in the given time this is very important as life brings in more challenges. Your concern is absolutely right. If he is slow now he may not be able to complete higher grade exams within the given time.

Setup a stop clock for him - let him buy it for himself.

let him set up time for each work/assignement from the homework At first he can have more time but after every day he can reduce the timelimit and challenge himself. this could be very interseting for him to see that he has control over the time and he is able to perform the same task that took hours are now done in mins. he will be developing himself for life's more challenging tasks ahead. Also he will have ample time to play/watch tv have fun.

Answer 4

If it's not broken, don't fix it!   Your son is a great student.  He's probably just a perfectionist.   Let him continue to do what he is doing, since it works!

Answer 5

I would continue to do exactly as you are currently doing - supporting your son. Whereas you might find it slightly strange that your son is taking so long, perhaps he is doing his best to break it down into manageable chunks and accessing this work in a different way to you or your husband. I think the best step forwards would be to have a casual chat with your son's teacher, just to check if this is a recurring behaviour whilst tackling work in school too.

Setting a time limit may help, you could arrange this as a 'trial run' to begin with to assess its effectiveness. Perhaps tell your son that 'dinner is in an hour' or you want some family time in an hour so it would be great if he finished his work in time. This gentle 'push' won't do any harm, and might allow you to see if this causes a change in behaviour.

Another note: If your son studies alone in private, perhaps he is taking small breaks in between sections of his work, which is fine to do but might explain the time taken to complete.

Answer 6

Wait a minute.... Your son is doing great in school, he completes ALL of his homework assignments, he enjoys doing his homework, and he doens't allow any distractions while doing it and this all concerns you?!?!  Do you have any idea how many mothers wish their children would do the same thing?!

Why not just talk to him about it?  Ask him if he's having any trouble with his school work.  Ask him if he feels like its too much work.  He may just be a perfectionist and wants to make sure everything is exactly the way he wants it.  A bit obsessive-compulsive?  Maybe.  I see absolutely NOTHING to be concerned about though.  Especially since he's doing so well in school and enjoys the homework.