1. Keep in touch with your child’s teachers to be fully aware of the quantity and the quality of the homework turned in. You can even add a column to your child’s daily homework sheet for the teacher to initial that all previous homework has been turned in.

2. Set a schedule, including both a beginning and an ending time. Most kids need some time to unwind after school before they tackle their homework, but you risk having a sleepy child if homework time is too close to bedtime. If your child has homework to do over the weekend, help your child develop the habit of completing it on Friday night or Saturday morning. Sunday night homework can create a sense of panic or stress if your child didn’t leave enough time to complete it all.

3. Encourage your child to divide the homework assignment into "What I can do myself" and "What I need help with." You should help only with that part of the homework your child cannot do independently, such as using flash cards, practicing spelling tests, and clarifying assignments.

4. Hold off on watching TV and other fun activities until homework is completed. And don’t fall for the multitasking approach: “I need to watch TV and do my homework together; this TV show is part of my homework.”

5. Provide a home study center for your child with adequate light and few distractions. If your child concentrates better with "white noise" (music), provide that help. Also, a dictionary, paper, pens, computer, and so on, should be readily available.

6. Use direct praise for doing the homework and even more for accomplishment. "You've spelled eighteen out of twenty words correctly—that's the best you've done this semester!"

7. Be available when your child is doing homework, so that you can answer a question if there is confusion. If possible, it is better for you to be in another room, so you are easily accessible and yet not a distraction.

8. Look over the homework when it is completed. Do not correct it unless you have checked with the teacher. Seeing the pattern of errors is often helpful to a teacher.

9. Daylight-homework-savings time should be implemented year-round when it comes to homework. Maybe it is an “old wives’ tale” or maybe it’s a great trick played on me by my high school chemistry teacher, but it has been engrained into my psyche that you retain more when you study in the daylight.

10. Allow bathroom, drink, or snack breaks (and set the timer), but insist on the completion of tasks.