Many of us got help from our parents with our homework when we were little. Again, many of us were able to improve our grades thanks to these help. But according to a new study, the help our parents gave us was actually not very beneficial for our development.
The study, using data from two databases of students from private and public primary schools, revealed that there was no significant relationship between parental assistance in homework and a child’s math or reading success. In the study using data from 1997, 1998 and 2001, factors such as socioeconomic status of children and educational status of their parents were also discussed.
It doesn’t matter how much help is given:
On the other hand, the research found that little or no help given to children did not affect the outcome. Although it is not known how this surprising result came about, estimated explanations were made. One of these explanations was that parents offered the answer directly rather than teaching their children how to think. Because of this, the children could not experience the ‘strain’.
However, another explanation was that children felt pressured to seek help from their parents. While all these results reveal that it is not very beneficial for parents to help their children with homework, previous studies have also shown that the relationship between the child and the parent may actually be better in this way. In order to find the most effective point in the middle, new research needs to be done.
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