What age for doing homework independently?

[scrappydappydoo]

At what age were your DC responsible for getting their homework done on time and without any input or reminders from you?
DD is yr4 and her teacher says she should be wholly responsible for it as she needs to learn to manage her time. I'm struggling not to interfere as I don't think she's ready for that yet. (I don't help with actual work but constantly remind her it needs to be done) Do I need to cut the apron strings or just nod and smile at the teacher and carry on nagging?

I think Yr 7. The expectation of such young children as Yr 4, to do homework, let alone independantly is ridiculous IMO. Children under 10 should be playing after school.

Ideally y5 or 6 I reckon. DD1 was about y9. Actually strike that. DD1 still needs help scheduling now and she's y11.

Ds is year 6 and does it independently. In year 4 defiantly not. I'd say he learnt during year 5. Dd is year 3 and she still needs help.

Dd is year 1 and gets a bit of help, Ds in yr 2 and dd in yr 3 rarely need help but I am in the room if they get stuck. Really homework should be practicing something they have been doing in class so they shouldn't need much help

Thanks for the replies. She's OK with the work it's just the actual switching off the TV getting down to it that is the struggle. In talking with her teacher that is what she apparently should be doing 'without reminders' which I think is unrealistic. I just wanted to check I wasn't being pfb! I'll still check but try and cut down on the nagging

There is no "age they should" because they are all different.
It's a good thing to encourage and nurture, because it is about seeing what can they do for themselves, but you can't make it happen if they really don't know how to get it done without guidance. If they want support (or badgering) I will give it.

Gradual process between Y5 and Y7.

I agree that homework for primary age children is ridiculous. I would like my dd to have time to play!

My dd is 9 and in year 5. She usually gets on with her homework without any nagging or reminders, and she has done for the last year or so. However, I'm not sure that this is the norm among her friends yet.

Depends on the child - with ds I was nagging right up to, and through GCSEs, but when dd1 was in Reception or Yr1, I'd ask her about her homework on a Saturday, and she'd tell me she'd already done it on Friday!
Sadly, dd2 is more like ds

My DS yr9 still needs a lot of help both with organisation and getting the homework done. I'm gradually gradually backing off and getting him to do it more independently, but it's taking a long time, and he isn't ready to take it all on yet. My older two were doing everything for themselves well before they left junior school. Different kids, different needs. Do what feels right for your child.

I'm glad my dc get homework. Things like tables,spellings are crucial.Other areas give me as a parent an insight as to what and how they're doing,a valuable chance to provide 1to1 and instil work discipline and help kids to work good studying habits.

1/2-1 hour a week leaves oodles of time to play.Given how much time parents and kids spend on screens these days a bit of homework time each week with mum/dad is positively quality time in comparison.

Ha ha ha ha ha

DD is in year 10 and still doesn't do her homework unless I remind her umpteen times.

She is taking some GCSEs this year, and not doing homework is not an option.

1/2-1 hour a week leaves oodles of time to play.

Yes, half an hour per week would be fine. However, dd gets around 2-3 hours each week, plus additional project homework once or twice a month that typically take another 3-4 hours each, sometimes longer. On top of extra-curricular activities, I find that too much.

Ah ha ha! Year 4?!? I'm a secondary teacher and tbh most students need someone checking they have done their homework. Some still need a lot of help being organised. Most I think can be pretty good about it after year 9, but I'll still be keeping an eye on my year 11 children!

LePetit -I don't really count spellings and tables as homework - they're things parents should be teaching/doing with their children anyway. It's worksheets/project work etc. I don't agree with, there's evidence it does nothing for academic achievement and opens up the gulf between rich and poor families even more.

Mine are Reception, Year 2, Year 4 and Year 5 and all need reminding. Year 5 and Year 4 need less support and help, but still need a parent hovering to ensure it's done well and answer any questions.

I found my DD1 really struggled with "projects" until this year, where she is able to sit down and do it all herself - e.g. write and research including presentation such as Power Point slides. It took a lot of input because she hadn't done any of that at her previous school so it was a steep learning curve.

Reception child is very motivated and enthusiastic about doing words/reading/writing practice but I have seen that wean later on! Sadly.

I agree that this totally depends on child. We are still helping one as a teenager in difficult subjects. The younger one at primary needs no help but does need me to do the reminding.

Oh and I got fed up with some teachers saying what all kids of an age should be doing. It's a bugbear of mine as they are so different in capabilities. My eldest struggles with writing but is very mature in outlook so appeared very competent everywhere but school! Even getting ready for school is so much more fraught with the second, but once there teachers think that child 2 can do no wrong...

I still help my teens if they ask . Why wouldn't I?

Last night DS asked both his sister and I for some ideas for his French homework.

He did the hard part; translating our ideas into French.

If it does nothing for academic achievement how can it open up the gap between rich and poor families even more?

I help my yr 7 with researching stuff, particularly on the Internet as it's hard to find relevant articles sometimes. And I frequently help with maths when it's hard. Otherwise I don't usually help, and I rarely remind as it's not needed. I do help if asked, seems a normal thing to do!

I help and remind my yr 3 in all subjects evety week or it would never be done. And she is often set homework she doesn't know how to do... But that is another thread.

Yr 4 is still very young to be responsible for homework. At that age they are still very much in the here and now. Fair enough to encourage independence, but I would have thought high school age was more the norm to achieve independence.

I still encourage nag my Y9 DS, I said to him only last night, 'we have been having the same conversation about homework for nearly 10 years'.

I'd love to know where these 'stressed, over worked' children are, certainly not in my household. Homework seems to be a 10 minute scribble (or copy and paste from the internet) at best .

My Yr9 DD is pretty much completely independent now - it has to be said she isn't getting much beyond revision and assessed independent work, no more endless worksheets. The school is all about encouraging independent research and self study. I never see her essays but they are (being marked to GCSE criteria) hitting target and in History (best and favourite subject) already at A grade standard.

Yr7 DD2 is just starting to realise how long independent research and assembling a project takes, but needs no nagging at all to do her standard work. They're all different.

Some of you have very high expectations of very small children .
I stopped monitoring homework in Year 9 and only when he had demonstrated that he was able to work independently without nagging
Prior to that I would give a nod to whether it was done and check the diary once a week.
Would still give advice now in Y12 if asked.