Advantages and disadvantages of homework for children

Five out of ten Spanish children feel stressed . The fault, they say, is for the amount of homework they have to do daily and the amount of extracurricular activities. Many parents claim the elimination of homework, and instead opt for other types of alternative learning activities. However, many de

Five out of ten Spanish children feel stressed. The fault, they say, is for the amount of homework they have to do daily and the amount of extracurricular activities. Many parents claim the elimination of homework, and instead opt for other types of alternative learning activities.

However, many defend homework as an essential task to reinforce and train knowledge. We analyze the pros and cons with Ana Herrero, educational psychologist at Brains International Schools.

Advantages and disadvantages of homework in childhood

- Disadvantages of homework: Duties at a young age are contraindicated. With four years there are many learning spaces to share, but of enjoyment: from reading to the park, where many things are learned. The cards do not have to be the form in which the child can learn outside. Sometimes they even have the opposite effect: children see it as an obligation, they do not see it as something pleasant. At this age it is better to use other tools, such as stories, which serve to stimulate language, comprehension, memory ...

In addition, duties, seen as an obligation, can generate the opposite effect in the child, that of stress and rejection.

- Advantages of homework: Some knowledge and learning are fixed through training. When the child already knows how to read, he will only gain in fluency if he trains, and he trains by reading. The important thing is to present it as something pleasant, not as an obligation.

Duties also help develop the child's capacity for autonomy el and the feeling of responsibility. In individual work we learn and develop the skills to organize, persevere, overcome frustration, pose challenges, expand knowledge, train memory ... Although of course, all this depends a lot on the age of the child. It must be something progressive. Advantages and disadvantages of extracurricular activities for children

Many children

claim their right to play. They need to play. Sometimes you have to ask yourself why children have so many extracurricular activities. Many times it is because of the problems of parents to reconcile work and family life. And it's something that parents should keep in mind ... Other times we point to many extracurriculars because we create false expectations. But maybe it's not what the child needs. Extracurricular activities

can be an ideal complement for children to enjoy and can express their creativity, but we should always use common sense and seek balance. Children need time to play, to do nothing. How parents can help with homework

Homework should be done by the children, but

the parents can help the child get organized . The parents can not supply the teacher, nor teach things that are explained in the classrooms. The role of the parents is of companions, of guides. When children are small, they do not know how to organize time or tasks. That's where parents can help children. It does not mean that parents do homework with their children, but help them make decisions and get organized.Video about the advantages and disadvantages of homework