URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, Ill., May 11 (UPI) -- Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign suggest struggling children whose parents are not controlling do better with homework.
The researchers found children who initially did poorly at homework tasks lacked concentration when their parents were controlling. In contrast, the children who had parents that were autonomy-supportive had improved performance.
Parents that issued commands, do assigned tasks for their children or rush them at homework resulted in struggling children becoming disengaged, the researchers said.
"When mothers respond to their children in a manner that supports autonomy, children doing poorly actually experience increases in their performance during their interactions with their mothers and the next day," said study author Eva Pomerantz. "Perhaps most importantly their school grades improve over time."
The findings are published in the May/June issue of the journal Child Development.
