Parents doing children's homework

[GerbilsForever24]

DS asked me to do his homework the other day. I laughed at him.

Chatting to another mum and apparently her DS asked her to do the same. Her reaction was even stronger than mine!

However, her DS claims that a boy in his class's mum always does his homework. I know this mum so it doesn't seem entirely unlikely. But what does this look like? the boys are in Year 7 so I guess the online homework and quizzes for english or maths a parent could do? Yesterday DS spent the evening labelling a science diagram. Would "doing it for him" mean telling him what and where to write things?

I just can't get my head around what doing it for them entails. I worry enough as it is that when I'm trying to get DS to think about the answers that I'm actually giving him hints that are way too big.

My 2 are in yr 8 now. Generally do it all themselves but sometimes they ask for help.

Dd1 - asks a question, we talk it through and 9 times out of 10 she's almost there and just wants validation. Even asking is rare tbh.

Dd2 - less confident academically especially with maths. Asks for help every couple of weeks. I am a bit rusty on her maths these days so we'll talk it over, watch the video tutorial together then i coach her through til she's comfy. I don't ever do it for her though, she'd get short shrift if she tried and she knows it....