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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To say the homework will be the death of me (or perhaps one of my children)

18 replies

dayslikethis · 01/02/2016 17:09

Seriously - what is it about homework that turns perfectly able (top set) children into a blubbering mess apparently unable to do the simplest of sums, or spellings, or unable to construct anything other than 5 word sentences?!?! 95 minutes it's taken tonight - 95 minutes to write 10 spelling words, 5 sentences & do 30 very simple sums.

OP posts:
Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost · 01/02/2016 17:12

Ynbu. It remember from my DD was in school. It's bloody stressful. They can't be bothered which you can understand. Theyve been in school all day.

Pilgit · 01/02/2016 17:16

DD1 is only at primary school and homework is already hated in our house. I just keep repeating that sometimes we have to do things we don't want so best to get it done quickly..

CrohnicallyAspie · 01/02/2016 17:16

95 minutes is ridiculous, unless they're y10/11 and doing coursework (in which case I would expect more than spellings, sums and sentences!)

I would set a timer for around 20/30 minutes and what they've done they've done. If it's finished then that's fine, if the teacher's not happy with the amount of work maybe they'll do it quicker next time!

molyholy · 01/02/2016 17:24

Yadnbu. Dd is in year 2 and I dread homework. Its a battle.

AnyFucker · 01/02/2016 17:26

It doesn't get better. My DS is doing his GCSE's. Apparently the "only way he can study" is if I do it all with him and "test" him on everything.

I swear I could sit 10 GCSE's tomorrow and pass every one.

Bookeatingboy · 01/02/2016 17:33

I have twins so twice the hassle on the same bloody homework!

LibidinousTurkey · 01/02/2016 17:36

I withhold the wifi password until it's all been done properly and with good grace

As a childless 20 something I positively sneered at parents who had to result to bribery in order to achieve things. These days, meh :o

Original poster
dayslikethis · 01/02/2016 17:37

She's in p4 (yr3 in England) - in all honesty the homework should have taken her no more than 40/45 mins tops. She is bright, but just so dithery after school!

DS isn't much better but with him it's a whole different issue - he just has no interest in the work that is being set as it's very repetitive and boring and so he just puts no effort in and is slow. I hate homework and I kind of agree with him that it's pointless "busy work" but the school has a homework policy and that means I expect my kids to adhere to it and do their best at all times - handing in sub-standard work isn't an option in this house.

(Sadly - the only type of homework which really stretches DS in any way is when they have to research and he loves that and does it really, really well - (last thing they had to do everyone else wrote 1-2 paragraphs and DS wrote a 3 page essay totally off his own bat and it was bloody good!) but they never get any feedback from the teacher - we haven't had a single piece of homework marked and returned this whole year bar spellings and maths for him so it's not exactly encouraging or motivating!)

Thankfully DTs homework comes home on a different day so I'm not doing all 4 on the same day!

OP posts:
Original poster
dayslikethis · 01/02/2016 17:38

Cross post bookeatingboy - I know that pain too!!! Last week though for some inexplicable reason DTs got totally different homework (they are in different classes but all 3 classes up to now have been set identical homework) and that was worse!!!

OP posts:
wednesdaysocks · 01/02/2016 17:45

it's always done quickest on the Monday its due back in this house, because DS I always bloody forget about it until that point😒

Cutecat78 · 01/02/2016 17:50

Apart from reading and the odd model I never got involved.

It's independent learning it's not my homework - if they don't do it they will suffer the consequences and if it takes them an hour when it should have taken them 20 mins I wrote it in the homework diary so the teacher knew they were struggling.

I think homework at primary school is bloody ridiculous anyway they are there a day they are only 5?!

Cutecat78 · 01/02/2016 17:50

ALL day....

Gileswithachainsaw · 01/02/2016 17:52

Yanbu

despite being capable dd seems to barely he able to string a sentence together at home. it literally takes hours Angry

waterrat · 01/02/2016 18:24

Well how would adults feel having to sit down and do more work after a full day of work . It's cruel and a waste of their precious free time.

Gileswithachainsaw · 01/02/2016 18:27

totally agree. hate it and no evidence that it helps

cleaty · 01/02/2016 18:52

Not a fan of homework. But waterrat, many adults have to do exactly that.

Charley50 · 01/02/2016 20:25

I rebelled after a few too many weekends spoliled by DS refusing to do it and me losing my temper with him. If he did it he did it; if not no worries. Like yours he did brilliantly at school but turned into a blubbery mess when faced with homework.
Lots of reading though and we did time tables in the bath, walking to school, everywhere really.

RubbleBubble00 · 01/02/2016 20:51

I'm mean. As soon as I pick up mon and tue, it's straight to kitchen table. He sits there until he does it - reward is usually a biscuit/lolly with his usual snack plus pebbles in reward jar.

If like today he's screaming and crying over 10 easy spellings. I leave him sitting at the table while I prep tea. Usually 30mins most he caves

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