breaks acted as protective factors,” Dr. Richter shares. “Chunking homework into shorter, timed segments with breaks can reduce this stress response.” DON’T SLACK ON SLEEP! Sleep is really important for everyone, but especially for brains working hard to process the day’s information. You wouldn’t expect a cookie baked for 50 percent of the recom- mended time to taste the same as one fully baked, so don’t expect your child’s brain to function at 100 percent when they’re not recharging it fully each night. “The mentoring study specifically found reductions in sleep difficulties among mentees, and separate research on stress physiology in SLD shows disrupted cortisol and melatonin patterns in these children, tying poor sleep to the broader stress response,” Dr. Richter reveals. She recommends working on homework before bedtime, giving kids’ brains time to relax and unwind. “A calm, consistent bedtime routine free of late-night homework pressure can support both sleep and next-day learning.” She also suggests creating scaffolding around homework time like checklists, visual schedules, and consistent routines so your child’s brain can know what to expect. CHEER ON YOUR CHILD’S STRENGTHS! Take the wins where you can get them. Sometimes it may look like your child spelling a whole sentence correctly, or completing one problem without help. “One of the best ways to support your child is to focus on what they did right and encourage those behaviors,” says Dr. Richter. “For example, if your child gets three out of five questions right, the parent should focus on the correct questions and ask what they can do to get better next time.” Intentionally encourage your child on the hard days by pointing out what they are good at. Don’t dismiss their struggle with off- hand comments like “It’ll get better” or “One day this will be easy.”“Framing schoolwork around what your child does well (creativity, verbal reasoning, problem-solving) while scaffolding the academic challenge can reduce the shame that often derails at-home learning,” Dr. Richter assures parents. Give yourself (and your child) grace. You’re not going to be perfect, and neither is your child. It’s okay! And while homework may not be a fun experience, you can both grow together.
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