Was recently reading an article about decorating children's rooms and there was a throwaway line about academically high achieving children having space for a desk in their room not working on the dining table/kitchen bench etc.
I suspect that there are a host of reasons that children with their own study space achieve - parents who can afford large bedrooms probbaly live closer to better schools, parents who care about desks are probably more involved in their children's education and so on.
But it did get me wondering. Where do most children do their homework?
We use the dining table so that I can keep an eye on them and help out if I need to.
Dining table. She has plenty of space in her room but she's still little and needs help/supervision so it works better for us at the table because we can join her.
The dinner table is a great place to do homework!
Ds1 has a desk but prefers the dt.
I think when you have a few running round its easier to help at the dt rather then when they are off in their room, but by 11ish they should really be able to be in their room doing it without too much supervising
Cause my kids aren't old enough I'll tell you what I did.
When I was young and needing help I worked at the dining table.
When I was older and able to complete the work on my own (maybe from late primary school?), I worked at a desk in my room where it was quieter. For what is worth, I had a desk in my room from quite a young age (early on in school) and I liked sitting there doing 'work' (drawing pictures, writing stories) whenever I could!
EDIT - DD1 has a little table in her room that she likes to use for 'drawing' or stickers. Sometimes with us and sometimes without.
I think it's good for them to have diffferent spaces depending on what they are doing. I don't like the idea of computers in bedrooms so will tackle that once they are older but I also know that when I was studying/reading, you need to have a quiet isolated place without distraction, so I think a desk in their room is a great idea, along with a dining table that is central as well and then maybe a desk in a central space with a computer (Better get DH chippy to start building our mansion with all these spaces )
I dunno about the article. DD has her own desk. Her room is tiny. But she generally does most of her homework in a shared space with us so that she can do it with us. And most families I know where the children have desks are the same.
Our family it was done on the dining room table until mid-high school, when the new house was big enough for substantial desks in bedrooms (all rooms held queen sized bed & desks). Study in bedrooms at that level was better for pulling all-nighters & the fact that everybody was studying different things.
I'm at uni and while I have a desk in my study, I still will go and study on the dining room table so I can spread my uni books out.
I was an academic high achiever and never had a desk in my room and I didn't do any homework in there. I spread my books all over the dining table which drove my mum batty lol.
So far DS's homework is just reading and spelling words. He reads on the couch or in bed and we do the spelling wherever. Sometimes I help him in his room, sometimes we do it in the lounge and sometimes outside on the picnic table.
We don't have homework yet, but DD will do it at the dining table or on her little table that is next to the couch so we can help. She will have a desk in her room when older (probably from year 5 or so). I think they need a space that is quiet, but also not having to pack up every night because dinner is ready. Out in the main living area there are too many distractions for most people to properly concentrate (however I'm sure there are some people that probably work better with some level of background activity).
I had a desk in my room growing up and would be classed as an 'academic high achiever'.
At the dinner table, and I assist when needed. I had a desk in my room as a kid which I did homework at and I definitely wasn't a high achiever LOL. I passed year 12 by 2%.
I had a desk in my room and I did it there or sometimes on my bed. I liked it cause it was quiet and it was mine. If I needed help I went out to ask my parents and one of them would come in and help me.
At the start of this year we set up a study area for the kids, the key board tucks up under the monitor and the laptop gets moved. It's in a common area so we can still help them but its their own space with their computers as well.
We have set up a study which dd will be able to use. Or the dining table. Whichever she chooses. I guess it will depend on the type of homework and how muc ph supervision/assistance she wants/needs at the time. Our study is set up with a couch so she can sit back and read without the distraction of the tv (which is visible from the dining table). I will encourage her to withdraw from the distraction of other people and tv as much as she can while doing homework, but will make sure there is music in there so it doesn't feel like she is being sent to the study as a sort of punishment kwim? Our study has a corner desk with large corner area too, so there is room to have all three of us working there (cozy though) or pc plus laptop/space for books/writing etc.
Growing up we never had massive bedrooms but we did have a desk in my bedroom. It was great to have a space that was "mine". Mum did family day care so I liked escaping to do my whine work from mid primary school. I was able to use the typewriter up there in the pre pc days, but once we got a pc, that part of my homework had to be done in the lounge.
ETA when I got older I used to sit on the floor in front of the couch and take over the large coffee table and spread stuff everywhere, or sit on my bed with stuff all over the place. Depended on what I was studying. I didn't have a pc of my own til I went to Uni so if it was a subject I needed to research online I'd take over the lounge, otherwise my own room
Last edited by briggsy's girl; April 8th, 2013 at 01:29 PM.
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Where do your children do their homework?
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