How to Help Your Child with Homework

Most parents want to help with homework, and most have had an evening where helping turned into doing it for their child, or into an argument. The help that works best usually starts with finding out exactly where your child is stuck, and then helping them take the next step themselves.

Find out where they're stuck

"I don't get it" can mean several different things. Ask your child to show you the question and tell you what it is asking. Their answer usually shows which of these it is:

• they don't understand what the question wants;
• they understand it but don't know how to start;
• they started, but one step keeps going wrong;
• they know how to do it, but can't find the time or focus to finish.

The first three are about the work itself. The last one is about the task: planning the evening, breaking a big assignment into parts, or starting earlier. Each needs a different kind of help.

Help without doing the work

It is tempting to show the answer, especially late in the evening. But homework is practice, and the practice only happens if your child does the thinking. A few things that help:

• ask questions instead of giving answers: "What do you know already?" or "What could you try first?";
• let them write every step, even when you could do it faster;
• if you know the method, show it on a different example, then let them go back to their own question.

Break the question into smaller steps

A long question is often several small ones. Work out together what the question is asking, what information it gives, and what the first step is. Once one step is done, the next is usually easier to see. At the end, ask your child to check the answer against the question: does it answer what was asked?

Ask them to explain their thinking

When your child explains how they got an answer, you can often hear where an idea hasn't clicked, even if you don't know the subject well. Explaining also helps them notice their own mistakes.

When you can't help with the subject

You don't need to know the work to help: the questions above work whatever the subject. When the content itself is beyond what you can help with, your child can ask their teacher, or use guided help that takes them through the question step by step.

Notice when the same thing keeps going wrong

One difficult question is normal. The same kind of question going wrong across several homework tasks is a stronger sign that a topic needs attention. Our guide on how to know what your child is struggling with explains how to find which topics those are.

When a tutor makes more sense

If a topic still isn't coming right after your child has worked through it with help, talk to their teacher, or consider a tutor who can work on that topic one-on-one. Our guide on how to choose a tutor covers what to check first.

How ReClass Homework Assist fits

Homework Assist is ReClass's guided homework help. Your child adds the question they're stuck on, by typing it or uploading a photo, and works through it in five steps: understand the question, plan an approach, solve it, check the answer, and reflect on what they learned.

• Hints come one at a time, and the full solution only opens once your child has used every hint and tried the step twice.
• Each question your child works through is recorded for its topic in their Learning Passport, so you can see where more practice could help.
• You can pause Homework Assist for your child at any time.
• If your child is still stuck, Homework Assist points them to verified tutors for their subject and grade on ReClass.

Homework Assist supports the subjects available on ReClass. It helps your child work through a question; it doesn't replace their teacher, and it can't guarantee better marks.