DD's homework - am I being unreasonable to think she should have known this stuff?

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DD (13) is doing health and social care at school. She brought home some homework about drugs which was basically a number of sentances such as "I create hallucinations and make people hear and see strange things, what am I?" and a list of drugs at the side.

That one to me was simple. But she didn't know it.

Another one was

"Body builders use me to get bigger muscles" and steroids was one of the options yet she didn't connect the two.

"Diabetics use me" She didn't connect insulin here.

Another one was "Asthmatics take me to help them breathe" and one of the options was her actual inhaler that she uses and she still didn't put two and two together.

Is she having me on or what? DD1 insists that DD2 is just trying to get me to do her homework for her because she can't be arsed to do it. DD2 says she hasn't been taught this stuff.

She is just being lazy. If she really didn't know she could have looked them all up in seconds.

I think you have the answer with the asthma thing! Teachers are not likely to be setting homework that's nothing to do with what they're learning at school are they? So either she's just not listening at school, or as your other daughter says, she just wants you to do it for her / with her. The latter seems more likely if she didn't pick out her own inhaler answer (how did she explain not knowing this?!)

Do you think it's an attention thing - that she likes the time you spend together? I never used to get help with homework, if I didn't know the answer I would have to look it up. Maybe you should just suggest she does that and that when she's finished her homework you can spend some time together?

Even if she doesn't know it that is not proof that she has never been taught it. I once taught one of my Dad's ex-pupils and he was fuming when I rattled off the list of things that she claimed she had never been taught.

Having said this, if she is 13 she will be expected to look things up for herself as part of her homework: it hardly seems very difficult. At her age, she should not expect to have her hand held every moment.

I wouldn't expect a 13 year old to know these things already. If she hasn't been taught them in school, then she can Wiki them just as easily as you.

Don't do her homework for her.

Check her books / notes (there will probably be something in there unless the hwk was prepping for the next lesson IYSWIM) and if you're really worried tell her you'll speak to the teacher and see what her reaction is...

Agree that at 13 she's more than capeable of looking these things up for herself.

Her homework might be about things she's already covered in class or it might be research to get her to go and find out, in advance of the lesson. Either way, at 13 its her homework not yours. I'd leave her to get on with it, make suggestions like "Try wikipedia" if she seems stuck, then let her get the telling off in class if she can't be bothered to make a reasonable go at it.

It sounds like she finds it easier to get you to answer things than do it any other way. Up to you to change that!

If she didn't know it it would have taken her approximately 60 seconds to look them up.

she's being v lazy! Give her a dictionary and make her use it...