5 Tips to Help Kids Manage Digital Distractions During Homework
Homework has always been a topic of contention between parents and kids, but these days with so many digital distractions, the prospect of getting our kids to sit down and focus feels as daunting as climbing Mt. Everest. It’s hard enough if your child has a phone, but if you’ve got a kid in middle or high school school with homework on the computer it gets even more complicated.
Here are some tips to help you help your child so that homework time can be a little more productive and a little less painful.
1. Carve out some time during the weekend to sit down with your child and try to come up with a homework plan together. In my experience working with kids, I’ve learned that they too find the distractions stressful. Kids want to be successful, they just have a harder time with impulse control - especially with so many temptations at their fingertips. Some questions you can ask your child:
What would you like homework time to look like ideally so that you can meet your goals?
What is your biggest digital distraction?
Would you like some help to minimize those distractions during homework time?
What does it feel like when homework piles up and you can’t get it done?
Now you’ll present the following tips as helpful suggestions and together you’ll form a plan.
2. Most experts agree that if your child has non-digital homework it’s best to do that first. Save the computer based homework for last so that at the very least they’ve accomplished some of the work without battling the temptation of the computer.
3. Come up with a schedule for breaks to check in with friends, check email, shoot some hoops or take a quick walk. If you build breaks into the homework schedule and cut their work into chunks, your child will be more likely to stick to a work goal. Knowing that after 20 - 40 min of focused work they get a 10 minute break will make them more likely to focus on the task at hand.
(As an aside - kids are so smart that they’ve figured out that they can chat via the Google apps they use for school - make sure you remind them that they’ll be given time to chat once the work is done, this is the time to focus).
4. Create a homework environment that is conducive to focus and stamina. While it’s tempting to give your child a homework desk in their room, it’s way too easy for them to sneak in distractions like YouTube and Snapchat if they are alone. Consider setting up a space in the dining room or at a desk in the shared area of your home. If there is too much distraction in the shared areas of your home, here are some tips:
If you have a desk in the bedroom, try to have it positioned so that you can see the computer screen from the doorway if you walk by.
Bedroom door should stay open.
Phones should be put on ‘Do Not Disturb’ and kept out of sight.
If your child is easily distracted by their surroundings, consider earplugs or noise cancelling headphones to help your child maintain focus.
Some kids do well listening to music or ambient sound (best without lyrics) to help them stay focused.
I’d also recommend putting a small snack plate by their side - a little fuel to keep them going!
5. Consider using technology to help! While I’m not a huge proponent of using parental monitoring apps, they can be helpful for managing situations in which your child needs to focus. You can hide the most distracting apps and websites during homework time with many parental control apps as well as simple productivity apps (Freedom is my personal favorite). Sometimes will power simply isn’t enough (even for adults!).
One last word on homework drama. It’s hard to watch our kids struggle against all these distractions, and sometimes they may not win the battle - they may actually fail to get the work done. Think carefully before you swoop in to save them in these moments. If your child knows that they have you there to ultimately save the day they have little incentive to change their habits. Sometimes we have to let our kids face the negative consequences that technology brings with it so that they can make better choices next time and come up with creative solutions for meeting their goals.
Good luck parents! Let me know how it goes and as always reach out with any questions.