Well, summer vacation is over and your child is probably knee deep into assignments and projects at school. You had a reprieve but now you find yourself asking the droning question daily, "Do you have homework tonight?" Trust me, it is just as boring for your child to hear this question as it is for you to ask it. So, I want to free you from that monotony, liberate you from the heavy sighs and often unaware responses of your child. Stop asking this question!

Instead, make an assumption. I know, my grandfather always said that to assume makes an "ass" out of "u" and "me". But in this case, assumptions will actually work to your child's advantage. The basic public school rule of thumb given to teachers allows for 10 minutes of homework a night per grade-level, per subject. If you do the math, which I admit is not my strong suit so please double check, this means that a student in 8th grade could have up to 80 minutes of homework per night. I know what you may be saying, "Yeah right, my kid has 5 hours every night." Or perhaps you are saying, "Really? Because he pounds out his work in less than 30 minutes?" Well, both responses are very telling but topics for another blog (mental note to self). If your child is at a university, they typically tell their students to be prepared for one hour of homework per college unit taken that day. A typical college class is worth three units which could mean an average of 6 hours of homework a night! Of course, none of these averages take into account students' study prowess or instructors' sadistic evil master plans to torture students.

But this is neither here nor there. The assumption you need to make is that your child always has homework and you need to help him allot sufficient time for such work. Block out time, the same time everyday, for at least the minimum required homework load. Once again, if you have a child in his sophomore year of high school, block out 100 minutes of homework time every night. Of course, this can and should go longer if need be and may be broken up into session after the mandatory time. Either way, a strong and consistent routine will help build your child's study skills habits for when they leave home for college and their work habits for any post-academic endeavors.