How Long Do You Let Your Child Work on Homework?

I do the same thing..
If they are having problems with one problem then I have them skip it and move on then come back to it. I will try to help them, but some things I don't know ( I can't help them with math). If they still can't get it after going back and trying to find the answer or way to do it then I tell them to ask thier teacher in the morning. I usually put a sticky note on the paper saying remember to ask about question #XX. So that way they remember and the teacher knows we tried.

Unless they were goofing around and not focusing everything is done by dinner time. If they didn't get it then its for the teacher to help them I don't make them try after dinner. If they don't get it.. they don't get it. If they were goofing around then they have to work on it after dinner until its done.

If it is taking them that many hours to do homework because they don't understand it, you need to get to the root of the problem. Do they need extra help in math? Is that something you or DH can work with them on? Or maybe a tutor? I think you need to be talking to the teacher as well. You don't mention their ages. If you have them do homework at the dining room table with no distractions while you are nearby for help maybe it will go a little faster. And if you are nearby, you can tell if they are avoiding, dawdling, or really not understanding something. With my 4th grader, she can have a small break after school for a snack and/or a little time in the yard with the dog or on the swingset, but she has to finish homework before any screen time. We also have a no screen time for our entire family from 6:30-8:00. Sometimes she is motivated to get her work done quickly so she can watch a half hour of TV or play with her Ipod before dinner. If my child did not get homework completed due to dawdling or defiance, then no I would not allow TV or privileges. But if it was truly something she didn't understand, yet gave a sincere effort, that is not something I would punish. If your children don't seem to mind taking incomplete work to school, I would be concerned. If this is a regular habit, is there no consequence at school? Have your kids just accepted that this is the kind of students they are? What do the teachers say? I think you need to find out the real "why" to the fact that it is taking them so long to do homework before you can decide what to do.

It should not take your children that long to do homework. Ask the teacher how long she believes it should take the children. Usually they assign about an hour or less per evening (at least in my experience). If your children are taking lot longer than the teacher expects it to take, they are either having great deal of trouble and could use your and/or hubby's help or they are fooling around.

If they are fooling around, then they would work until bedtime and then get up early to finish before school.

If they are struggling, then either you or hubby needs to be in there helping and if you are, then I would limit to 1 hour and send a note to the teacher advising how long you worked with them; that they were exhausted and needed a break; you will continue to work with your child until he/she grasps the concept(s).

You don't mention how old your kids are and what grades they are in. In general in my house, homework gets done and then there is down time. There is no tv watching or video games during the week (Sunday night - Thursday night). My kids are in high school now and they either do or don't do it and suffer what ever consequences the school dishes out. I do get them tutoring in their area's of weakness because they all need to know how to get help when they need it. Soon they will be off to colleges and I won't be there to hold their hands or get them the help they need. I believe I have taught them how to study well and get help when needed. Two very important skills they will need even in the workplace.

30 minutes and on hour before a big final exam.

It depends on the age of the kids. I have my kids do snack then homework. my oldest is in 8th grade. his math is no more than 45 minutes. then he can move on to the next subject. in high school there will be alot more hours of homework. My friends son does 45-60 minutes per class. my 3rd grade daughter has hers done in 10 minutes. that is math. she has a packet for everything else. it is given on monday and then turned in on friday. normally she is done with it in 15 minutes on monday and then has the rest of the week free. when she was given homework nightly it only took her 15 minutes

Check with the teacher. I know all schools are different, but at our elementary it was standard practice to give ten minutes per grade level (20 minutes second grade, 30 minutes third grade, etc.) plus independent reading every day.
This is assuming that your kids are really trying and not just messing around. Again, check with the teacher, because they may be struggling to keep up.

How old are the kids? According to the principal at our school, homework should be no longer than 10 minutes for each grade. So a 3rd grader shouldn't be taking longer than 30 minutes to complete their homework. If I were you, I would speak to the teacher. Why is there so much homework? Is it too hard for the kids? Is it incomplete work they didn't finish during class? It doesn't seem right that its taking so long. Good luck.

Well its more than that really. If your child is spending more than an hour to 2 hours on their homework then there is more of problem. Teachers say an hour but not all kids can in an hour. I know my child by the time she reads for 20 minutes as required it leave less time for the rest. It should be a set schedule and a certain amount of work should be done in that time frame. I'd give them 15 min on their own and see what they accomplish. If they are not getting the work done cause they are messing around then they do not get rewarded with Tv. If they are obviously trying then their is a bigger issue and maybe tutoring will be in order or they are put in to high a class. If it is the latter I would not be taking TV privs away. On a side note dont hover over them or get in their faces. Give them the space to succeed or fail on their on in that 15 minutes.

I feel some tutoring may be in order. If it's taking them longer than 3 hours to get homework done and the only down time is to eat dinner, something definitely doesn't sound right. I'd go get a free assesment done at one of the tutoring places in town or even talk to their teachers to see if the amount of homework is reasonable with what their expecations are. Good Luck!!

10 minutes per grade. My first grader sometimes needs a little more time, but if he's focused he can do it in 10 minutes.

My 3rd grader was spending HOURS on her homework, so I let her teacher know we were moving to 30 minutes. If she had more than that, I figured he was giving them too much, or not teaching her what she needed to know to complete the tasks at home on her own.