Is school really that hard and tiring for the average kid?

[sandyballs]

I keep hearing other mums saying how stressful school is these days and how so much is expected of them at a young age. Also how worn out their kids are.

I have two kids in year 4 and from what I have seen I really can't agree. Surely when you add up all the playtime, lunch, pe lessons, assemblies etc and the fact that they finish in the middle of the afternoon then there isn't an overly stressful amount of actual graft going on or am I completely wrong here.

What has prompted this is that we are away for the weekend with friends with similar aged kids and mine are doing their homework which is about 10 min of literacy and 10 of numeracy then they have the entire day to do as they please. Friend thinks I am nuts to 'make' them do it as they work hard enough at school and need a break from it. She is going to write a letter saying it wasn't done as away for weekend.

Depends on the school and the kids. My son was exhausted after school, but he is dyslexic and has to concentrate full on to get what the other kids easily get.

But you do your thing, let others do theirs. Its not unreasonable for you to make yours do 10 min or 20 minutes homework a day. (If it becomes 1 hour from screaming, and lack of focus etc. then maybe it is unreasonable.)

Thanks for reply mummytime. I can appreciate it is harder for your son if he has to concentrate more.

No tears at homework, might make me think diff if there were

depends on the school and the child and the home tbh.

My DD does not get tired and stressed about school but by the end of term she is pretty wiped out - not least because her school does humungus amounts of activities including two hours of gym after school twice a week. As she is only 7 she can get pretty knackered by the end of term

Can't comment on Y4 but from my experience of reception I would say that every child is different?

My DD gets pretty exhausted by the end of the week. However, she is still keen to do reading/writing for 10 minutes every night, it's me who hasn't always got the time/energy lol

I think it very much depends on the children - if they are not keen sometimes pushing it too much can have the opposite effect?

Would agree though that there isn't one rule for all - I know that I was amazed at the stamina my 5 year old can have when she WANTS to do something.

I also have twins in yr4. Like others mine can be tired after school but suddenly mention going to bed early and they quickly revive themselves. They complain about being tired when told its homework time but not too tired for other activities. I dont think 20 mins of homework is too much to ask at the weekend even if you are away but then again I am a bit of a homework freak as Dt2 struggles and needs things reinforced quite a bit whereas Dt1 could get through school life without doing any homework and still do well.

If my Dt's werent able to do homework for a particular reason I would do a note to the teacher saying that it would be done the following night/weekend