My teenage son is very capable when it comes to school work, but somehow he seems to be allergic to getting on with work! We seem to have endless battles to divert his attention away from the Playstation, friends' parties, MSN, etc and onto the stack of homework that is building up.
Where did we go wrong? Neither my wife or I were like this as teenagers (at least we don't think we were - are you reading this, Dad? Perhaps you know differently!)
Or more usefully, have you got any good tips?
Hey there,
I'm new to DadTalk and this is a big concern for me. Thankfully my girl is only 8 months but with my nephew who is 15, it has always been a struggle. I don't think kids are prepared enough for the world of work. I know I had hardly any good career advice. Work experience is a joke sometimes I think, they just put the kids in mcdonalds or something. I mean that's fine as a job, but schools don't really do enough to promote all the kinds of work kids can do, or further education they can take. I think if young people understand what is out there, and have even some vague idea of what they want to aim for, then they're more likely to get on with the homework.
Best of luck! I'm dreading when my girl starts school!
Hi
It's really hard to keep teenagers on track with homework/coursework but one solution that seemed to work with my son was giving him the responsibility of managing his time and getting his input into how long he thought he should spend on each activity and divide up his time. We then plotted the time on a chart and it did help him as he could see the huge imbalance!
Utimately, your teenager is responsible for homework. They earn the marks on their own, we don't learn them for our children. Handing over responsibility doesn't mean you aren't involved. No teenager likes to be nagged and sometimes it is best to let them fail and see the consequences of their inaction for themselves. After all, exams can be retaken, hassle I know but a vital lesson learned.
Jamie
I have a very simalar thing with my 14 yr old step-son,he's more than capable if he wants. Me and my wife will often ask have you got homework and get the uuhh no response,then my wife will read in one of his school books a comment about him not doing his homework.. 🙄 🙄
The real frustrating thing is they have these planners which are supposed to be for the parents aswell,so you would know if they've got homework rather than having to sift through there bag,but the teachers don't seem bothered to use them anymore.
We are really trying to get him to buckle down at school more-do his homework etc as these days having some half decent qualifications is so important,I don't think your alone in your child not being too motervated,I just think alot of kids are just more bothered about there social life.. 😉 😉
Without seeming argumentitive to the poster who said they feel sometimes it's good for a teenager to fail and that they can always re-sit there exams,we would rather nag are lad to death before just sitting back and watching him fail to be honest,if he was for example fail,who's to say he would be remotely interested in re-sitting them and not just seem destined for a career path that is just doing something for the sake of it.
I have this struggle most nights with my daughter - its not just doing the homework its the effort she puts in.
She gets excellent test results and is in top or second classes for most of her subjects - she even knows what she wants to do when she leaves school so you would think she was focused. She seems to be whilst at school however getting her to put any effort into her homework is a struggle of epic proportions.
I have stopped nagging and started discussing, ultimately its up to her i guess but only she can motivate herself to do the work well.
I have the same sort of problem with my son - he is very bright but has never worked for a wage. He is rapidly coming to the end of his degree, so he knows that he is going to have to work soon, as I've made it clear that I simply cannot afford to support him if he doesn't - he seems to be getting there, so I'm not worried particularly - well, apart from his sense of dress.