We know that being a parent isn’t easy. Let’s face it, there are only 24 hours in a day and sometimes those 24 hours just don’t seem to be enough to do all the things on your “To Do” list, plus help with the kids chemistry homework.

Being there for your kids at study and homework time though is critical to their success and it can give you the peace of mind you crave. Studies show that parental involvement can speed up a child’s learning and give parents a firsthand look at what their child is learning and how well they’re doing in school. It’s definitely one good way to avoid not-so-great surprises on parent-teacher night.

We’ve all heard that setting aside a quiet place for homework is essential, but realistically, these days, kids are doing their work while IM-ing, listening to iPods and watching TV. While you should always work to keep the distractions to a minimum, there are other things you can do as a parent to make the most of homework time.

Here are our Five Homework Tips For Parents To Yield Better Results:

1. Be positive about homework
   Telling your child how much you hated homework at their age isn’t going to help. The attitude you present towards homework will be the attitude your child adopts. So stay positive and reinforce how important homework is to building a great future.
2. Help your child with time management
   Establish a set time each day for doing homework and have your child do the most difficult work first. That way, they’ll be most alert for the bigger challenges, and the easier ones will seem like a breeze when fatigue starts creeping in later. Don’t let your child wait until it’s almost bedtime to get started because you’ll both be too tired to do your best.
3. Provide guidance, not answers
   When your child asks for help, give them guidance, not answers. Taking the easy route of just giving the answers so you both can get on with other things is a huge mistake. Letting your child work through questions to understand concepts will give them the confidence to know that they can face challenges on their own if they need to. The benefits will go far beyond homework.
4. Watch your child for signs of frustration
   Well, let’s face it: every homework assignment isn’t going to be a piece of cake. On top of that, every child has their own learning style, so you have to be alert to when your child starts showing signs of frustration. If you see your child is getting frustrated, give them some time out for a break. That break will help them to recharge and refocus on their assignment.
5. Reward your child for a job well done
   Everybody likes a pat on the back (or something better) when they do a great job, and your child is no exception. If you see that your child has worked hard and done well with their schoolwork, help them celebrate that success. Don’t go overboard, but reward them with small “Congratulations” tokens like a trip out for pizza or a movie.

Tutor.com is a great resource to use along with these tips for helping your child with homework. At Tutor.com our professionals will help your child understand the concepts they learned in school, so that they can get better grades. Students who’ve used our service tell us it makes them feel more confident about schoolwork and over 90% say they would recommend it to friends.

You can give your child the same chance for success starting right now. Just sign in to your account to start working with a live, professional tutor in math, science, social studies and English. They’re ready to help every day of the week from 2:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Eastern time, and they’ll work with your child for as long as they need. Remember, the time you put in now with your child will pay off in the future.

Source (For 5 tips): U.S. Department of Education, Office of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs, Educational Partnerships and Family Involvement Unit, Homework Tips for Parents, Washington, D.C., 2003

So you’ve just made it through the nerve-wracking report card period and you’re starting to think about what’s next. The last thing you want to do is to repeat any of the nail-biting moments that popped up this past semester. One way around the end-of-term anxiety: student progress reports.

Progress reports do exactly as their name suggests—they inform parents of their child’s progress throughout the school year. While this is great news for parents and teachers, it still strikes fear in the hearts of some students. Read on to find out how you can make progress reports work for you. Read our tips for parents and students on making the most of student progress reports.

Students: 3 Ways to Prepare for Student Progress Reports:

• Be proactive: Progress reports go out between weeks 4 and 5 of the semester, so take a few minutes to talk to each of your teachers before then to get prepared. Ask them how you’re doing, check to see if you’re missing any assignments and ask about areas where you can improve.
• Create a plan for yourself. When you’ve got a plan, you’ve got a better chance for success. Set aside time to do homework and studying to stay on top of things and make sure you stick to it!
• Don’t suffer through frustration alone. Ask for help when you’re struggling. Use your parents, friends and Tutor.com as resources for help with school work.

Parents: 5 Things to Look For in a Student Progress Report:

• Look at your child’s grades on assignments and exams. This will help you to identify subject areas where they need a boost.
• Read teachers’ comments on your child’s conduct in the classroom. If there are signs of trouble, your child may be trying to get your attention or may need some positive reinforcement from you.
• Find out what your child’s work habits are. Read teachers’ comments to find out if your student “Completes assignments on time”, “Follows directions” or “Contributes to group discussions.”
• Make sure that your child has completed all of their assignments. If the report shows missing assignments, talk to your child about them and find out from the teacher if the assignments can be made up.
• Keep in touch with your child’s teachers. Progress reports help you play a more active role in your child’s education. Take it one step further and call, email or set up a conference with your child’s teachers if you have questions about the report.

Student progress reports, like Tutor.com’s session transcripts, keep parents in the loop about their child’s education. Our session transcripts keep an accurate record of each student’s work with tutors in the online classroom. Parents can always access the transcripts to stay informed about what their child is working on and areas where they need help. And, just like Tutor.com, progress reports give students a chance to correct any mistakes that threaten to ruin an entire semester. Learning is cumulative, so staying on top of schoolwork and in touch with the key players is critical.

In school, your child will get stuck on homework. It’s a fact. They’ll get to a point where they don’t know where to go next. Wouldn’t it be great to have something to get them back on track the minute they make a wrong turn? You know, like the GPS system in your car? Okay, kids don’t usually beep when they make wrong turns, so it’s probably wishful thinking that you will always know when they’re in trouble. But there are signs you can look out for. When you know the signs of trouble, they’ll stand a better chance of avoiding the dead-end turns.

Getting Lost
It starts out as frustration in a particular subject or with doing homework. Then it’ll be a missed assignment followed by anxiety about upcoming quizzes and tests. And when it gets really bad, low confidence and low self-esteem start creeping into the picture. These are some of the surefire signs that it’s time to get extra help. Sound familiar?

Getting Directions
With all of the tutoring services out there, it’s a headache to find one that’s just the right fit. An hour-long, weekly appointment with a tutor is great if the situation gets desperate, but who wants to wait for that to happen? What if your child only has a quick question or just needs a push in the right direction? Or what if they just need help with one algebra questionthat you just don’t remember how to solve? With busy schedules, it’s tough for parents to find time to interview tutors, schedule an appointment that fits both schedules then drive to that tutoring center. You want to help, but it definitely isn’t the easiest job in the world. It can be a huge pain.

Getting Back On Track
How great would it be if the help your child needed was right at your fingertips? Well, it is. Tutor.com’s online, on demand service with no appointment-setting is the “GPS” of online tutoring. It puts students back on the right track and takes the stress out of getting help. With this service, your child can simply sign into their account and get connected to a live, professional tutor within minutes—even if it’s 10:00 p.m. on a Sunday night. That means that at Tutor.com, your child will get help when the problem’s fresh and they’re motivated to learn. Plus, each tutor is screened and certified in online tutoring so you don’t have to worry about the quality of the education your child is getting.

So, if the signs show your child is heading for a wrong turn, why wait until they get completely lost? At Tutor.com you will get immediate results and relief from school-related stress. Just go to Tutor.com to start working live with a professional tutor in math, science, social studies and English. Our tutors will work with your child for as long as they need.