Advice needed re my 7 year old DD

jellyhead

Homework was a nightmare for my boy at that age, and here they do SATS exams at the end of year 2. Over the easter break he was given 42 worksheets to complete and it took over 80 hours, great holiday :eek:

I spoke to his teacher and said I wasn't prepared to make a 6 year old do hours and hours of homework each night after school - she was amazed that it might take him longer than 20 minutes per worksheet and really didn't think she was overburdening them.

She agreed to give out homework and spellings on a friday so children had a whole week in which to do the homework. My boy generally did his over the weekend when he wasn't already tired from school. Year 5 was a different story - teachers refused to give homework over the weekend because so many children blamed going to their dad's house as a reason for not doing it :mad:

At your daughter's age should she really be getting so much homework that it needs to be done on a school night? Are her weekends busy?

Omega 3 makes a big difference to his concentration and also to eczema. I helped him`concentrate by talking about the homework with him instead of leaving him on his own to stare at the walls or sulk.

Setting a time limit of 45 minutes after which he could stop (but do more later that day or the next day) really helped stop the tantrums.

Does she have enough to drink? maybe she has a headache sometimes - I used to get them at her age.

jellyhead

longforthesun wrote: »

mrcow thank you for your advise. Dont worry I dont see it as a critisism. I totally agree 4 hours was too long. I just wanted to get this finished.

Most parents in your situation have done it, got cross and told the child they have to finish it even if it takes until bedtime.

I made that mistake too, and I felt terrible but didn't feel that I could back down once I'd said he had to do it

longforthesun

jellyhead she does not drink enough. She can take one sip of her apple juice in the morning. She takes a bottle of water to school and most days this comes home unoppened. I have told her time and time again she needs to drink during the day but she says she is not thisrty.

jellyhead

My boy is 12 and he STILL doesn't know what thirsty feels like!

He drinks at mealtimes because he knows he has to, but outside of mealtimes it just doesn't occur to him, and at school breaks and lunchtimes they can go out to play as soon as they are finished so if they don't have a drink it means more playtime.

I am strict, I make him have a drink the instant he comes home from school because if I don't make him drink he will forget, and he doesn't eat the evening meal until half five.

If he sleeps at a friend's house quite often he will forget to drink, and lunch will be the first drink he's had all day and even then he puts the cup down and forgets about it if he's not sat at a dining table.

I don't understand why he doesn't feel thirsty, but he really doesn't, ever

onetomany

have you tryed a egg timer you can start of 3 mins and work your way up thats what the school used with my son

fernliebee

I'd say the drink thing will make a big difference. I only drink water and I drink 5-6 pints of it a day, if I go a day where I'm really busy and haven't had a drink since the morning I feel awful. Really stressed, anxious, angry, grumpy and emotional!!! Maybe try getting her to have a drink before her homework? Also someone mentioned headaches, I used to get them when I was younger as I had an undiagnosed squint. Not suggesting this is the case, but has she had her eyes checked to see if she needs glasses, as it is very common in school, for children to lose concentration if they can't see the board very well!

Hope it get's resolved soon.

longforthesun

Today was a much better day. I made her drink her apple juice this morning and asked her if she would try and drink most of her water at school. She did drink half of the water. Well homework tonight went well. Being in scotland most kids at school have to learn a Burns Poem and she has learnt it all off by heart tonight :j she has done so well and it is a hard one, I even have trouble getting my tongue round some of the words.

Perhaps it is because she is interested in it and she is looking forward to dressing up in tartan on friday although doubt she will like the haggis (dont blame her) but I am a much happier mummy tonight.

jellyhead

I LOVE haggis

My son sometimes takes an ice lolly for his walk to school, sneaky way of getting liquid into him but some of them are full of junk.

longforthesun

An Icelolly is a good idea, will need to wait until it gets warmer (whenever that may be)

I had a welsh pen friend years ago and I actually had her beleive that Haggis was an animal, I shold say we were about 10 at the time. Greggs up here are doing a haggis pie and it seems to be selling well so lots of folk must like it.

Js_Other_Half

longforthesun wrote: »

An Icelolly is a good idea, will need to wait until it gets warmer (whenever that may be)

She's a kid - there's never a bad time for ice lollies...:D. Why not make your own with fruit juice?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dexam-Ice-Lolly-Maker/dp/B0012DQQ8O