Is there ever a time when a child should be doing homework on a family holiday? No there isn’t.
If you have a regular little and often plan in place, or if the dreaded 11+ is on the horizon, or CE exams or GCSEs, whatever! Please don’t take work away with you on holiday.
Children – and particularly conscientious children who are keen to please you and do well at school – need a break from the huge demands of their modern school life. By the time you head off on holiday every member of the family is looking forward to a break from the daily routine. So let them have a proper load of fun.
Use the prospect of a holiday to explain to your child a few important life lessons:
1) It is wonderful to reward hard work with a proper break and some fun.
2) Life isn’t all about work. It is about getting the balance right between work and fun.
3) Because we all work so hard, we can afford to have some time off without worrying about falling behind.
4) Success is about preparation and confidence. You have done the preparation (or as much as you need to at this point in the year) and we are confident that you will do well. So give yourself a break – you deserve it!
Any conversation you have with your child, along these lines, will boost their confidence and make them all the more ready to pick up the reins on your return. So be brave – and allow your child to have a proper, fantastically enjoyable break (even if it rains when you get there).