Homework before or after dinner?

[fireman17]

Just throwing out there for you all. Want to know how many who have kids in school have them do their homework before or after dinner? We trying to come up with a solid plan for our children due to my work schedule and after school activities.

 

[scooter7487]

Before

 

[Katy Belle]

My kids pretty much manage their homework themselves, ages 12,14,16. Generally they do homework after dinner. Sometimes they do their music practice before dinner, and if we know the evening is going to be crazy, they will do homework before dinner. Its pretty flexible here.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Before.

 

[BCDisneyFanatic]

DD in Grade 5 does hers before dinner. DD in Grade 8 is a perfectionist with lots of assigned homework (at least 2-3 hours a night) and therefore does hers both before and after dinner. They both manage their homework themselves, though, so those are their choices.

 

[AnnaS]

I would say before also. What time is dinner? What time are activities after school finished. How much homework, 5 minutes, 1 hour? How old are the kids?

Maybe do homework before and if dinner is early, read, study (for test) after dinner - unless they are exhausted by then - then I would say all before.

 

[violetrose]

I think it depends on the parent's schedule.

When our children were little I was coming home from work about the same time as they were getting off school. We'd have a period of time where they could just chill, I'd give them a snack, and they would have 30-45 minutes to do whatever they wanted. Then around 4:30 they would start on homework and work until dinner was served at around 6.

However I know families where the parents don't get home until 6, kids are either home by themselves after school or in after care. Those families I can see waiting until after dinner. The later in the day though, the harder I think it is for kids to concentrate. I also would not recommend doing homework immediately after school. Kids need a break from the long day they just had.

 

[Art 1]

Both.

 

[aprilgail2]

We just fit it in where ever it may fall depending on the night of the week- some nights we are running around with after school things until 8pm so those nights she will do it in the car and finish it when we get home if she has any left. Since her after school clubs dont start now until 3:10 and school ends at 2:20 she gets to go to the academic center for that time so she does most if not all of it there. She has never cracked a book to study so she needs no time for that.
In grade school they would get so much homework that I ended up telling her to stop doing it after a certain amount of time and she would finish it in the morning before school.

 

[Acklander]

DS12 is responsible for doing his own homework, so it's his choice. Usually he does it after dinner but gets all the reading parts done on the bus ride home (1 HR long bus ride)

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Just throwing out there for you all. Want to know how many who have kids in school have them do their homework before or after dinner? We trying to come up with a solid plan for our children due to my work schedule and after school activities.

Depends on the kid, homework, and the schedule really.

Some kids need downtime after school and some need to do it right away because their brains are mush in the evening.

I would tell you to access your kid, homework amount, and schedule. Be realistic & tweak as needed.

When my dd's were younger we had days that we did homework right away and some days it was after dinner.

My youngest is a freshman in HS and she comes home and needs downtime. Usually she starts her homework right before dinner, eats dinner and then does more homework.

 

[kacaju]

Since we are out most nights of the week...they have always done their homework as soon as they get home. By now..at ages 12, 16 and 18...it is a habit for them to come home and get it all done ASAP.

 

[HelenePA]

if its nice out they can go out to play first since it gets dark so early, then eat, then homework. If its crappy out I make them do their homework first and then eat... honestly as long as it gets done I dont really care

 

[mrodgers]

They get off the bus at 4:15, Wifey leaves for work at 4:45, thus we eat soon after they come home. No time for homework.

My oldest (11-5th grade) usually has most of it done on the bus ride home. She will quietly go to her room after dinner for homework. From 1st grade on, she has had hours of homework in every grade.

The 8 yr old (2nd grade) you have to fight about everything from homework to taking a shower. From 1st grade on, she rarely has any homework. Quite a difference from my older daughter's experience.

For the 8 yr old, the only thing we didn't bother with was the little 3 word sentence on each page booklets she had to read every night in 1st grade. She read and understood the majority of the first Harry Potter book in 1st grade, I felt it was silly to have her reading simple 3 word sentences for homework when she could read a 600 page (?) novel and understand it.

 

[wishesuponastar]

DD10 comes home at 4:10 and has a snack and rest time for about 15 to 30 minutes then does her homework.

DD14 - does the same thing as sister but some days she has music lesson right after school so then she'll do homework after that.

Thankfully, they never give me a hard time about doing homework.

 

[mjkacmom]

My little ones come home, have a snack, and do homework. Well, right now ds9 has soccer 2 days a week pretty much right after school, so he does his when he gets back. Dd10 and dd9 have dance every night, which averages 2 hours, so they need to start homework right away (dd10 usually has about 1 1/2 hours). Dance can run as late at 9:15, but they can sometimes get it done at the studio.

Ds13 and dd15 are on their own at this point, but did it after their snack when in elementary school. Most activities here start around dinner time.

 

[Minnesota!]

We get home a little after 5, DS sits down at the kitchen table and does his homework. I cook at the same time, so I am right there if he needs help. On nights we have activities, he does what he can while I am making him a quick dinner (sandwich, fruit, etc), and then finishes it up when he gets home.

He is required to read at least 20 min a night so he does that right before bed time to wind down.

 

[StephMK]

DD11 relaxes a bit then has to get started because she can be pretty slow. DS9 automatically likes to get his done fast and right when he walks in the house. DD18 does her own thing & has managed her homework very well the last several years. DD11 is a completely different personality so it's been interesting!

 

[brookmey]

DD gets home at 4, has a snack and then does her homework around 4:30. The kids' activities are at dinnertime, so DD has to do it before dinner. On the days with no activities, she still does it before because I want to keep the routine and consistency. Besides, it's best for DD to do it right away and get it done while school is still fresh in her mind. If I let her wait until later, her focus will be gone and it will be a battle.

I also want her to get in the mindset of homework first, fun later. She's now in the 2nd grade and this is how we've done it since kinder. With her, she needs to have structure and routine otherwise she gets distracted and loses focus, so letting her do her homework whenever she feels like it won't work.

 

[nmmom95]

My 3rd grader does homework before dinner. My 8th grader does it before and after, because he usually has so much more. In addition, my 8th grader has more activities, so he usually gets home later than his brother.