Let's see, for my family, I helped my children with their homework about 50 years ago. My Mom and Dad started about 20 years before that. I'm not talking about writing term papers for kids, but helping them learn and understand their school work and learning new concepts has always been part of a good parent's job. Why Johnny Can't Read—And What You Can Do About It is a 1955 book-length exposé on American reading education by Rudolf Flesch. It was an immediate bestseller for 37 weeks and became an educational cause célèbre.

Don't leave it to your child's teachers to teach your children anything. Do it yourself and be happy you had the opportunity to do just that. When you go to the teacher-parent interview (everybody does),and as condescending as they are, ask yourself, do I really want that person teaching my child anything?

You’re not understanding my point. Of course parents need to offer support and assistance, but what I keep hearing from young parents now is that they’re spending hours every night working on homework with their kids. If that’s actually true, then there’s a major disconnect with the child’s teacher, because it’s not the parents who are supposed to be learning the lesson. If the child truly cannot do the homework without the parent, then the homework isn’t appropriate for that child’s level. As a parent of several kids I believe that I have the experience to speak on the subject. Sure, we all knew a couple of kids who always had the best projects and perfect grades, but we all also knew that it wasn’t the kid actually doing the work. Parents who are overly involved might want to ask themselves why they’re really doing it. Maybe they’re worried that the performance of their child is a reflection of themselves? It’s supposed to be about the child’s performance, and nothing else. Helping too much can actually teach the child that you don’t have the confidence in their ability to do it themselves. Instead of fostering confidence, you’re teaching them dependence and insecurity.

Parents who believe they know better than teachers, parents who believe their children are special sweethearts who deserve vastly preferential treatment over other children. They're doing their children ZERO favours. Sadly, they're setting their children up for a very difficult life. Just keep on keeping on and let karma do its work.

I have a friend with a child in dental school and the mother writes all of the child's essays. If I ever get a toothache, I certainly don't want that kid's hands in my mouth.

My dad was a teacher, he generally didn't help me with my homework. However, when it was sa subject he knew and he knew I was struggling, he would do his best to help me understand the problem and solve it myself. And because he was a teacher, if he couldn't help me there would be a conversation if I wanted him to talk to the teacher to let them know I was struggling. Looking back, I'm glad he did it this way and didn't do it for me