Is your elementary school student bogged down by homework? It's possible, says new research.
Fellow parents who are tired of our kids being totally tired out by homework: You're not alone. And you're not imagining things.
New research backs the concern that many of us have: Our elementary-school-aged kids have too much homework.
The research, published in The American Journal of Family Therapy, found that primary school children have up to three times the amount of homework recommended by experts. Nearly 1,200 parents participated in the study.
All images via Thinkstock.
The National Education Association recommends an elementary student have 10 minutes of homework per grade level per day.
So a first-grader should have, at most, 10 minutes of homework per school day, and a sixth-grader should have a maximum of 60 minutes.
But it turns out, many students are getting far more than that. In the study, first graders averaged 28 minutes and second-graders were averaging almost 29 minutes per school day.
Perhaps most notable? The study found that even kindergarteners are getting a heavy dose:
"The 10 Minute Rule does not give a figure for recommended Kindergarten homework load. Yet, in our study, we found that the average homework load for Kindergarten was 25 minutes per day, which may be both taxing for the parents and overwhelming for the children. Further, in a period of life when children are focused on early stages of socialization and finessing motor skills, we anticipate that an overload of homework will likely interfere with a Kindergarten-aged child's ability to play and participate in extra-curricular activities."
Homework probably has its place, but...
Read a parent's Facebook post about the homework struggle, and you'll probably find many others chiming in with a bunch of Amens.
While some parents would prefer their children have no homework, many don't have a problem with it. It's the quantity and time it takes that's weighing on them.
And teachers are having a hard time with it, too. The research notes, "Teachers, struggling to fit core curricula into an already full day of classes, use homework to meet academic requirements."
Too much time sitting at the kitchen table working through math problems and spelling words can lead to stressed kids who act out. And are kids really learning that much when they're maxed out and filling out worksheets just because they have to? Plus, all that extra homework cuts into family and extracurricular activity time.
Is the homework wearing you out, too?
Kids are feeling bogged down by homework. Teachers are feeling bogged down. And, of course, parents are as well: "Family stress, measured by self-report, increased as homework load increased and as parent's perception of their capacity to assist decreased," the study noted.
What's a parent to do?
While homework isn't the most exciting way to spend time after school, it's a fact of life for most kids. How can you make it better?
The U.S. Department of Education offers some advice, including the following:
"Help your child with time management.
Establish a set time each day for doing homework. Don't let your child leave homework until just before bedtime. Think about using a weekend morning or afternoon for working on big projects, especially if the project involves getting together with classmates.
Be positive about homework.
Tell your child how important school is. The attitude you express about homework will be the attitude your child acquires.
When your child does homework, you do homework.
Show your child that the skills they are learning are related to things you do as an adult. If your child is reading, you read too. If your child is doing math, balance your checkbook.
When the teacher asks that you play a role in homework, do it.
Cooperate with the teacher. It shows your child that the school and home are a team. Follow the directions given by the teacher.
If homework is meant to be done by your child alone, stay away.
Too much parent involvement can prevent homework from having some positive effects. Homework is a great way for kids to develop independent, lifelong learning skills.
Stay informed.
Talk with your child's teacher. Make sure you know the purpose of homework and what your child's class rules are.
Watch your child for signs of failure and frustration.
Let your child take a short break if she is having trouble keeping her mind on an assignment."
A lot of teachers ask parents to talk to them if daily homework is taking more than a certain amount of time. They're not looking to make your kid's life — or yours — miserable, so a little communication goes a long way.
What do you think about the current state of homework for elementary school students? Too much? Not enough? Just right?
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."