Homework - When is the Best Time for Homework for my ADD/ADHD Child?

By Stuart Ackerman  MSc.Ed.,B.A.

     With a rigorous curriculum, and an ADD child at home, you certainly have your work cut out for you at homework time.  Most homework tips include a good study area that is quiet and conducive to doing work. What most people don’t realize, is, the importance of ‘timing’.

     Every child has an internal clock that regulates his or her high and low energy times. There are kids who come home from school and crash while others are so happy to be out of school that they are ready to go to their soccer game and play for hours.

     You know your child best. When are your ADD/ADHD child’s peak times?  Does he or she come home and want to sleep?  Does your child get his or her second wind after dinner?  Or does your child always seem to run on a full tank?

     Find out when your child’s peak times are and capitalize on them.  For example, if your child seems to have boundless energy from 4 o’clock to 6 o’clock and get tired at 7, then find the time when he is not over stimulated and not too tired to do work.  You will have to find that fine line.  If your child seems to always be ‘on’, then do something to tire him out and then try some work.  If your child is ‘wired’, it will be hard to get him to do work.  If he is too tired, it will be even more of a challenge.  You’ll have to find that mid-point in-between hyper and fatigued.

     Find your child’s ‘best’ time for homework and you will have more success.