Do you think that seven and eight is too young for children to have *regular* formal homework from school.?

Question

After all they are in school for long enough and they need to have Family time when at home and relax (and start to help around the house too and learn about other non-academic responsiblities that they will need in the future).

Well reading and spelling maybe - but not set by the school - I used to read to my boys every single night and since they shared a bedroom the elder ones got to hear them often and (even though they may not have admitted it) they enjoyed it and joined in too.I made up stories too at bedtime - it was fun and based on what I thought might be worrying them or they would find funny not some set book from school to be tested on!
I think secodndary school is the time to start - and even then not too much so they can go to scouts and other activities without worrying about being punished for not doing their homework.

Answer 1

I don't mind reading, spellings and a worksheet to do over the weekend but no I don't agree with as you say formal homework my 8yr old was getting a lot of homework last year so I went in to school because I wasn't happy turned out that my son was struggling at school because of the mixed years they do now and my son couldn't keep up which was making him bad so therefore she was sending all is incompleted work home with him which I wasn't happy about at all after a meeting with her over it out came how he was not doing very well so why hadn't the teacher asked to see me so that we could sort something out for him and make it alright instead of overloading him with all this work which he felt overwhelmed with also knocking his confidence in the process so when I pointed this out she agreed with me and also to drop him down a table where he could complete his schoolwork easily but which in my mind gave him some confidence back which it has, so needless to say Joan my son's teacher never sends loads of homework home with my littlen now as she knows I don't agree with it like you say they spend enough time at school. bx

Answer 2

My kids have homework every night from starting school and to be honest I think it is too much, they are at school all day and have homework every night which they do not enjoy. The only good thing is that I get to see how they are progressinga nd see what they are doing at home but I do worry as when I have 4 at school all doing different work it will take quite a chunk of the evening. I also feel some of the homework is not approptriate as in stuff that really requires internet access or a trip to the library before the next day which not all families have the luxury of. I think children should maybe get homework on a friday to be handed in on a monday so they can do it at their leisure rather than a rush after school before supper.

Answer 3

That really stinks. However I can see the need for it. I teach at the college level and I have seen a dramatic decrease in the reading and math skills of our students over the past eight years.

It is a much bigger problem. They have mainstreamed all the differently abled children, so the teachers have much more on their plates. No child can get left behind, so they have to teach to the test, focus on discipline, and spend more time with the slower learners. They are expected to teach values, health and common sense, and do all of this while making sure that each child has a healthy sense of self esteem. Then when a child brings a gun to school the teachers are blamed. So they have to document everything and meet with a team of social scientists about each kid.

For all of this they receive a little more than minimum wage. If everyone would allow the teachers to teach basic subjects and not keep heaping more and more responsibility on the educators, the children might finish their education during school. But until we as a society back off, children will have more and more or the stuff they should learn at home taught at school and the stuff they need to learn at school brought home.

Okay rant finished. Thank you.

Answer 4

well i have mixed emotions. What good will delaying the homework do. Also the homework is supposed to help make what they are learning more concrete. Yes they are in school a long time but they have many subjects and it is not enough time. They need to reinforce what they have learned if not the school year would be longer because it will take longer to learn. I do think that in the last 10yrs they have given you children to much homework. I think that at that age they need the re enforcement but not hrs upon hrs of work.
I remember having homework as a kid that young I still played, watched TV and had dinner with my family, and had chores that had to be done weekly it just was not every night. Kids get out of school early and have plenty of time if it is managed right to get all of those things done no matter what their situation is.
My mother picked me up as school let out she was a teacher so i did not have to wait long. I would do homework and watch TV all before dinner (5:00) then i had chores and other things. My friends who had to wait for their parents or had to be in the after school program did their homework at school before they went home so their is all ways a way

So short answer no they are not to young but they get to much of it now

Answer 5

My daughter had homework in Pre-K. Of course it was very simple and took no more than 10 minutes to complete.
This year she's in kindergarten and they will be getting homework twice a week. She looks forward to it! It's mostly practicing writing letters or numbers.

I remember when I was in grade school (when the dinosaurs roamed LOL) that we didn't get homework until 3rd grade. But it was such a shock to go from never having homework to doing almost an hour of homework three nights a week. I can see the value of easing a child into homework at an early age. Of course if the amount of homework they are given is extreme I would arrange a conference with the teacher.

Answer 6

I think it is too young, but they are doing this from day one now.
My cousins eldest daughter is only 4, she started school in August and is still only in from 9am to 12pm and she has already been sent home with formal homework, a homework book for her mother to sign every night to say she did the homework and gets to lots of work to do every night. She has a reading book and a word tin and at the weekend they also send home work sheets. I found the fact a parent had to sign something to confirm a child this young had done her homework was taking it all too far.

Answer 7

I'm not sure how to answer without knowing the amount of homework you are speaking of Joan. My grandson has homework from Kindergarten. Some takes at least an hour or hour and half of working with him at night. But that is usually no more than 2 nights per week and then week-end homework. I don't know how it is in the UK, but in my opinion some schools here in the US overdo the homework assingnments. It should just be a very reasonable amount at that age, I think.

Answer 8

No I do not think so, not at all.
Children need to know that they have to be responsible for homework and as they get older it will become much more disciplined so they might as well understand it as early as possible. There are approx 5 hours of time that a parent can structure other activities in and there is always the weekend.
I came from a time when at age 9 there wasn't ANYTHING in a house I couldn't do .I could iron, wash clothes with a wringer washer, hang clothes(no dryer), vacuum, mop floors(on my hands and knees) do dishes , make beds, dust and cook a simple meal.
Apparently it didn't kill me

Answer 9

Nope, not too young. My son is now in the third grade and is 8 years old. Last year, in the second grade, he was getting regular homework, and this year is no exception.

He's not being completely innundated with homework. Children need to keep up with schoolwork in order to prepare for the future responsibilities that they will end up having. While I'm not into a heavy homework load for a child, I'm certainly not against them having "regular" formal homework.

There is a time to play, and there is a time for studies. That's what makes people well-rounded. Education at home is just as important as at school. It's our job as parents to reinforce it. :)

Answer 10

Interesting question as it's something I've been thinking about since my son went back to school.
He will be 6 in November.
He brings home books to read, every two days they are changed, this to me at this stage is enough.
At 6 they only have a limited attention span anyway.
I always take time to read with my son, I personally believe it's the building block for future lessons, maths, history, English etc, how can they learn these things without the basic reading skills?
I know he does Maths and other key skills at school as I receive regular updates from his teachers but at this moment they don't set this as a homework.
Realistically I would expect him to have more homework next year, at the moment I think my son and I have a good mix of "homework" and home life.

Answer 11

No, it's not like they get hours worth of it. It's usually one or two papers at the most. I have four kids so I know. You're lucky, my kids had homework in Kindergarten. Real homework. My three eldest kids have moved out but I still have the youngest at home. The other three are of age. My son's in fourth grade and is 9. He has about 15 minutes of homework each night and that's three or four papers. It's not hard. If you don't start them young they'll never get used to it. When would you have them start? What's the right age? Everyone would have a different thought on that. My son does it as soon as he gets home. I don't have any problem with him and he does it without help. It's very easy for him and has been. I do not think it's too young.