My kindergartner puts up a fight any time we ask him to practice his writing, counting or any other assignments he brings home from school. We are getting pretty frustrated with this situation. What can we do to encourage him to do homework?

You are not alone in your frustration. Many children resist doing their work once school is done for the day, and like you, many parents have a hard time trying to help their children change their attitudes.

COLLABORATE
You'll probably find that your son's motivation will increase when you treat his homework as a collaborative effort. In other words, instead of saying "You need to sit and practice your letters," why not offer to go through this exercise with him? By doing so, you're making sure that your son's getting his work done, and at the same time, you're putting him in a position to use your help when he needs it. Ultimately, you're rewarding your child with positive parental attention.

HAVE FUN WITH IT!
There are many ways to make homework activities fun for kids. You might try offering small rewards for tasks that have been completed correctly. Let him choose what's for dinner on the nights that he does homework without a fight. Or promise that if he gets his homework done by seven every night for a week, you'll take him to that movie he's been wanting to see. These are just a couple of examples to get you thinking of your own ways to use rewards as motivation for your child.

EVERYDAY LEARNING
Also keep in mind that when it comes to homework, most assignments are activities that need not be done in isolation: If your child is supposed to practice counting, do this activity in the car, in the bathtub or while playing catch. Your son will begin to associate learning activities with things that he already likes to do. And in turn, he'll dread the homework less.

The trick is to find times when your child is already a captive audience, and make that time worthwhile by turning it into a learning experience. By becoming involved as a parent, you're creating quality time between you and your son while you also become deeply involved in his education.