Offer to do it with them. This doesn’t mean do their work for them, any part of it. Just sit there by them, let them read their instructions out loud, and help them when they need help. This gives them a feeling of having your complete attention, which most children love, and it won’t seem so bad. Let them know that you will sit at the table with them, and they can show you all of their work. If they are reluctant at first, say “Well, at least show me what you have to do.” Then as they pull out math worksheets, reading books, etc, you can ohhh and ahhh over them. “Wow, Annie. Those are big math problems. You can actually do those?” Most children will be eager to show you how well (and quickly) they can do the problems. Do the same thing with reading. “Look at these big words, Jake. I can’t believe you can read these!” Jake will most likely want to prove what big words he can read. You can use this method with all of the child’s work. This works well with third or fourth grade and below. After that they are sometimes too smart for that. But it can never hurt to try.
If that doesn’t work, let the child know that as soon as their work is done they can do something special, like play a game of their choice with you, or choose a cookie. Try not to use television unless they were already going to watch a movie or something their parents already set. Then it can work well as a reward. Don’t pose the statement as a bribe though. Instead of saying “If you do your homework you can have a cookie.” Say, “I know that you have to work very hard on your homework, maybe when you are done we can have cookies and milk together.” If the child thinks you are bribing him, you will have to bribe him to get him to do anything.
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