HOMEWORK SCHOMEWORK

"What do you do when it is like pulling teeth to have your kids do their homework?"

WOW, welcome to my life! Every night when those words come out of my mouth "Okay, kid, it's time to do your homework," my child acts like the world is ending. It's like the battle of Superman and Darth Vader. Yeah, I get them mixed up but you catch my drift. I think this will always be a battle of wills no matter who you are. However mixed up my interpretations may be I know exactly what you are talking about. I myself have a 10-yr old that NEVER wants to do his homework. I have yelled, screamed, and sometimes kicked him (okay, maybe I haven't kicked him...but I wanted to) to get my kid to do his homework in a timely fashion but let's face it, do you remember what it is like to do homework? I do. Simply because I just spent the last SIX or SEVEN years doing my own homework and I hated. every. second. of. it. It's human nature to avoid it and procrastinate doing it until the very last second. Here is what has worked for me:

1. Sit down WITH them to do it. I make it seem "fun." I have managed to make some of his homework like a game. For instance, when he has a spelling test the next day, I tell him that whoever spells it correctly first gets bragging rights. Me, being the AWESOME speller that I am, my kid thinks it is hilarious when he beats me (like that could ever really happen). Granted I let him win once in a great while but when he "beats" me he gets to say all night that he could spell "dichotomous" and I couldn't (which, for the record I can spell and I actually know what it means).

2. I tell him that if he doesn't do his homework he can't watch The Simpsons (or whatever show he really, really, really, wants to watch), a show that I despise and would totally not let him watch if it wasn't for the fact that I watched way worse things as a child and he already thinks everyone should "eat his shorts."

3. Bribery is not a baaaaaad thing. Hang a donut over his head (jeez, another Simpsons reference), or tell him that if he doesn't do his homework you will tell his teacher to make him stay in the classroom to finish it while all the other brats play 4-square (his favorite game). And, by the way, I have totally done this.

All of these should work for older kids to, just modify. If none of the above work, PRAY. Because your kid will not, and does not, care. There is no help for you. BUT, I will tell you that when I was a child I never lived up to my potential. I simply did not care. I had a 2.3 GPA when I graduated from high school and when I FINALLY went to college at age 27...I had a 3.5 and above my entire college career. So, even though your kids aren't down with the math and the writing now, know that it may not always be this way. Who knows, maybe your kid will win American Idol and we all know that you don't need to be smart to do that.

And that is...TWAT I THINK! HA! (That was for you, Tina :)