Balancing Homework and Kids Mental Health
In an article released on USA Today, our very own Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, Psychologist and CEO of Omega Recovery (Part of Recovery Ways Family of Programs), weighed in with valuable insights into the discussion surrounding kids mental health and homework. Below are some of his excerpts from the article:
And for all the distress homework causes, it’s not as useful as many may think, says Dr. Nicholas Kardaras. “The research shows that there’s really limited benefit of homework for elementary age students, that really the school work should be contained in the classroom,” he says.
Mindfulness surrounding homework is especially important in the context of the last two years. Many students will be struggling with mental health issues that were brought on or worsened by the pandemic were making heavy workloads even harder to balance.
“COVID was just a disaster in terms of the lack of structure. Everything just deteriorated,” Kardaras says, pointing to an increase in cognitive issues and decrease in attention spans among students. “School acts as an anchor for a lot of children, as a stabilizing force, and that disappeared.”
But even if students transition back to the structure of in-person classes, Kardaras suspects students may still struggle after two school years of shifted schedules and disrupted sleeping habits.
“We’ve seen adults struggling to go back to in-person work environments from remote work environments. That effect is amplified with children because children have less resources to be able to cope with those transitions than adults do,” he explains.
To read the full article entitled “Is it time to get rid of homework. Mental health experts weigh in” click here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2021/08/16/students-mental-health-time-get-rid-homework-schools/5536050001/
