Play a card or board game or color some pictures. But when homework is finished, don’t let mindless television take up the evening. If you think your child could use 30 minutes to decompress after school, allow it. classes are shortened and art and music classes are cancelled, there is nowhere for kids to let off steam during the day. It may be hard for you or your after-school sitter to get kids to focus after being cooped up in school all day. Instead of procrastinating, homework is finished and the night ahead is clear.ĭrew Edwards, author of “ How to Handle a Hard-to-Handle Kid,” suggests, “the best time could be right after school, in the afternoon after a short break.”

Homework right after school may also instill a sense of accomplishment and timeliness about work that needs to be done. It can be easier to help them understand problems being asked or to recall suggestions from their teachers. When the kids come home and head straight into homework, the work of the day is fresh in their minds. Our experts offer their advice on which option might be better for your family.

Is it better for kids to get right down to homework so they can relax the rest of the night or relax first and wait to tackle it until later in the afternoon or evening? This a common debate in many households on a nightly basis. Many parents have to listen to the heartfelt pleas of “Can I watch just a half hour of TV first? Pleassssse.” Do you give in? Parents are exhausted from working and running around all day and kids are tired from being in school.

While the morning get-up-get-ready-get-to-school-and-work rush is bad enough, the afternoons can be just as tiring.

To do the homework