Why Your Kids Shouldn’t Spend More Than One Hour On Homework

How much time should your child be spending on their homework each night? It depends on who you ask. Many parents will tell you "as long as it takes". I remember that homework time for me when I was young was just after dinner. I'd either go to my room, or to another room in the house and sit down and get my work done before turning in for the night. Some nights it would be an hour or longer. Other nights, half an hour. But how long is too long?

A group of psychologists recently determined that the optimal amount of homework a student should do each night is 60 minutes. 70 minutes at the max. Why? That way the students gets the most of what they're learning and do their best work. Anything longer than that, it can actually do more harm than good. At 90 to 100 minutes, students lose focus and don't retain information and also do poorer on tests.

How long do your kids take to do their homework at night? Is an hour long enough?