❝My Child Is Done With Homework❞

By: Phoebe Ackland, ellaslist

Popular U.S mummy blogger Bunmi Laditan shared to Facebook an email she sent to her daughter's primary school teachers. Her push back against the 2-3 hours per night workload given to her 10-year-old each night has won a tonne of praise and applause from social media, with other parents commenting how they too, feel that the stress of having too much to do is getting to their little ones.

Enough Is Enough

Latidan's passoinate post brings up many valid arguments about kids and homework: should children not be allowed to wind-down and relax after school just as parents come home and decompress after work? What about family time? What about extra-curricular commitments? What about time to play, run around, and be a kid? Laditan questions what use homework is after a full day of school, where children should have done their day's worth of learning? The post has been shared over 21,000 times, racking up over 73,000 likes in less than a week.

The stress that Latidan says was beginning to physically manifest in her child is very distubring. At 10 years old, how could this academic pressure possibly inspire in her a love of learning? The comments seemed to indicate that many other mums and dads feel the same:

• “I wholeheartedly agree. I support this 100%. My son worries if his homework isn’t up to scratch. They need time to have fun, enjoy family and relax.”
• “As a child psychologist, I’d like to say thank you for being brave in taking this stance, and standing up for what you know to be the right choice for your daughter. You’re modelling so many positive values that go beyond academics here.”
• "I teach 8-9 year old's and I don't assign any homework. I have them all day, when they are at their best for learning. If I can't accomplish what I need to in those hours, I need to re-evaluate my teaching."

Latidan commented back to her own post clarifying that her confession is in no way an attempt to insult or point the finger at teachers, but rather, at the system. She wrote: "I want to state that I'm in no way blaming her teachers. They're incredible and I know they have to do things a certain way. This system just isn't working for my family or my child. I can't watch her unravel anymore and be filled with so much stress at age 10. Her dad (who is a very good behavioral therapist) and I have worked hard to reduce her stress, but there's just too much work. I don't talk about my kids much because I try to respect their privacy but I felt like I needed to get this out there. Something has to change."

Are your kids finished with homework too? We want to know! Comment below.