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When homework is completed, children usually are able to access enjoyable activities. Thus it is not surprising that some children view the completion of homework rather than turning the homework in as the end point in the process. It is important to help your child develop the independent habits to return homework to school.

It is important for you to accept the feelings of frustration your children may occasionally have with homework. It is also important that you then redirect your child back to the current task, explaining what needs to be done and how to best to do it.

Homework can also play an important role in helping you understand your child’s learning style. Watch your child as homework is completed. Provide feedback and ask your child’s opinion about what appears to work best.

Although there has been recent publicity suggesting a backlash concerning the need and importance of homework, the truth is the underlying rationale for homework is to facilitate learning. By establishing a family routine of talking about the value of learning of which homework is one means of accomplishing this goal, the meaning of homework shifts from just a boring task requiring repetitive effort to a valuable system for learning. Remember, homework activities help children develop essential skills for independent learning.

Although it has been hypothesized that the heterogeneity of problems related to ADHD makes it worthwhile to evaluate distinct aspects of attention, efforts at developing “an ADHD battery” have met with limited success. This is not surprising as ADHD increasingly is recognized as a disorder of inconsistency, not necessarily inability.