Back To School: ‘Homework Is My Six-Year-Old’s Favorite Past Time’
As co-workers tend to do, Wally and I frequently sit around and share the adorable stories of our children’s lives. Wally has an amazing little girl named Samantha, who happens to be a few years older than my daughter. So on a slow afternoon, we’ll sit around and play “Whose kid is cuter?” I have to admit, it’s probably a draw.
We were discussing back-to-school, dance shoes and football season, roughly in that order, when Wally shared a hard-to-top story of excruciating sweetness. He asked Samantha what she was most excited about for back-to-school? As a first grader who knew what this whole school thing was about now, what was she looking forward to? “Homework,” replied his daughter. Wally was pretty puzzled as to why any child would enjoy homework. “Really?” he asked. “Why is homework your favorite?” Are you ready for the cuteness…
“Because I get to do it with you, Dadda.”
Collectively… Awwwwww.
That’s right, every night when his little girl gets home from school, she has to sit down to her homework. Once she’s done, Wally goes through the assignment with her to make sure she understands the lesson and that she hasn’t had any problems. It’s a pretty simple routine for a loving father, but we forget how much it means to a child.
And honestly, we forget how rare it is to hear stories of devoted dads spending time with their kids. Whether it’s reading books, playing catch, or even checking homework, fathers are more involved in their children’s lives than ever before. And I believe that it really benefits the kids. Obviously, it can turn homework, the bane of some children’s existence, into something to look forward to.
In the flurry of notebooks, new shoes and new teachers, sometimes we forget that kids go to school to learn. They are excited to gain new knowledge and information. The more a parent gets involved, the more excited the children will become. My co-worker’s little girl knows that her education is important, because her father takes to the time to sit down and talk to her about it. Whether its 15 minutes or two hours, obviously Wally’s little girl knows that her dad cares about her homework. As happens with lots of children’s activities, the more we care, the more they enjoy it.
Mothers are often seen as the nurturing parent, while fathers are believed to be the disciplinarian or the enforcer of rules. Here’s an amazing example of how a rule, “Do your homework”, became a nurturing event for a child. It’s a heart-warming story, to see a father and daughter bond over math problems and reading lessons. And its the type of story that I think we could all use more of. Its nice to be reminded that the little things we do mean so much to our children. Who knew homework could be so wonderful?
(Photo: Thinkstock)
