Page 16 - IFV Issue 7 August 2025

Today’s Child

HOmEwORK BATTLES

And wHAT’S AcTuALLy

BEHInd THEm

BY NICOLA KILLOPS

What if it’s not laziness?
What if it’s something else entirely?

t’s 4:37pm on a Wednesday. Your child than not, they’re just overwhelmed. And Their executive function battery is flat.
is sprawled on the couch, shoelaces they may not have the words to say so. • Anxiety or fear of failure – “What if
Istill half-tied, watching the ceiling fan I do it wrong?” is often the louder voice
spin as you say – not for the first time – Beneath the surface: It’s not just behind “I don’t feel like it.”
“Have you started your homework yet?” about the task • Lack of understanding – They’re too
They groan. You groan. The dog leaves By the time your child gets home from embarrassed to say, “I don’t get this.”
the room. And just like that, another school, they’ve likely already spent six to • Sensory overload – Especially for
homework battle begins. eight hours sitting still, masking emotions, neurodivergent kids, the classroom
We don’t plan for our afternoons to following social cues, absorbing lessons, may have been too loud, too bright,
unravel like this. Most of us start out avoiding embarrassment, and trying their too fast.
the term with good intentions – fresh best to hold it all together. That’s a full • Perfectionism – The stakes feel so
stationery, colour-coded timetables, workday in anyone’s language – before high, they’d rather avoid than attempt
maybe even a sticker chart. But life, they even begin their “second shift” of and fall short.
inevitably, gets in the way. And what homework. So, when they resist, stall, cry, • Emotional residue – A playground
started as a quiet “reminder” soon becomes or “accidentally forget” their Maths book fallout or maths test panic can linger
a shouting match, tears, and someone for the third day in a row… there’s often long after the school bell rings.
threatening to email the principal. more going on than meets the eye.
But here’s the part we don’t talk And so, they sit. Frozen. Resistant.
about enough: most kids aren’t refusing What looks like laziness might Sometimes explosive. And we, as
homework to be difficult. They’re not lazy, actually be: parents, step into the ring – not knowing
entitled, or lacking discipline. More often • Cognitive fatigue – Their brain is done. that the fight was never with us.

14 • August 2025 • The Villager