Why do some parents do their kids' homework?

Why do parents overreach with schoolwork? Family experts and educators offered these explanations.

Ego: Moms and dads may see in their child's homework a reflection of themselves. Science fairs and open houses are very public, displaying students' work for everyone to judge.

Children "are, in so many ways, reflections of us ... and if they don't do something well, it must be something I'm doing wrong as a parent," said Roxanne Owens of the Family Literacy Initiative at DePaul University. "It's certainly not fair, but that's a natural inclination."

Good intentions: Parents are constantly urged to get involved in their student's education.

"Parents put a lot of pressure on themselves for their children to do well in school, and homework is the one thing they can really be involved in," said family therapist Leah Smethurst with Northwestern University's Family Institute. "It sort of represents their contribution to their child's schooling."

It's easier: Sometimes it's easier to provide an answer than to walk a child through the assignment -- a consideration for those tackling homework at the end of a long day.

"It's exhausting to work all day, come home and have the energy to be that perky parent who says 'let me get a well-balanced meal on the table in 30 minutes and then we'll start to do the homework,' " said Rockland School Principal Jean LeBlanc of Libertyville, a mother herself. source>>>

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