Effects of too much homework on students

Long hours spent in school is on its own stressful for students; adding homework to it is like adding salt to an injury. A lot of responsibility rests on students ranging from high academic achievement, active social life, etc. to even sustainable development. According to some researchers, homework is too much when a student spends more than 2 hours to solve it. Homework had a definite purpose when it all started, but when it begins to be at the detriment of student's health, it needs some scrutiny. Hiring a helper to do homework for me will ease the studying burden and free up time for hobbies and sport. It would affect both their health and their productivity.

It is essential to note the importance of homework before explaining the effect of too much of it.

  • It helps to reinforce what they learned in class. Children are liable to forget things when there's no reinforcement. Homework helps to bridge this gap.
  • It helps to build their critical thinking and research skills.
  • Parents can be involved in their children’s life by guiding them through homework.

Having established the importance of homework, it is essential to identify the effects of too much homework:

  • Too much homework could distract a student from really learning. Students in a bid to complete their homework may be under pressure. They may decide to copy their friend's work which would not help them to develop their learning, research and critical thinking abilities. Some student’s enthusiasm for school work may start to deteriorate as a result of stress from too much homework.
  • Students who have too much homework may have a miserable social life. They would always be busy doing homework and have less time to play. Play, an essential part of a child's development would be off the list; in worse cases, the child may develop an inferiority complex.
  • Too much homework is a lot of pressure on a student. The student would spend nights completing homework and have less time to sleep; this is bad for their mental health. A research by Harvard Business Review has shown that people who sleep less are liable for making poor decisions in life.
  • Students with too much homework have little or no time for other developmental activities such as computer training, volunteering, etc. Parents can help out their children who are pressured by too many assignments by:
  • Observe what causes stress for them; is the homework too much or they are just lazy.
  • Find out if the child is focused on the homework or is playing games or other activities before going to confront the teacher in school.
  • Please help your child make a daily routine to reduce disorderliness, at times, what stresses students out, is the absence of a schedule for all their activities.
  • Reach out to their teacher if the pressure is not reducing with the plans above. Your child may need help on memory, and critical thinking skills and the teacher could have methods to help with that.