The Learning Habit: A Groundbreaking Approach to Homework and Parenting that Helps Our Children Succeed in School and Life

My wife and I have struggled with our 2nd grader's homework since he started the 1st grade. Once I started following the routines suggested by the book we started to notice an immediate change. We don't fight regularly like we used to, it's rather infrequent now and not nearly to the same scale it once was. However, we have only been working on these systems for almost two months now.Giving our son a specified amount of time (20 minutes) to get his homework addressed has been a learning curve for all of us, but I believe it is a sound solution. He is receptive to working for 20 minutes and does so without argument. I think it's because he knows what he's in for. In the past, homework could last hours and usually ended up with him being grounded or having something taken away. This hasn't happened since we started the 20 minute routine.We've also limited his screen time (iPad/tv/xbox) to 1hr/day. This is divided up into 30 min for consumption and 30 min for creativity. He scoffed at the idea originally and it can still occasionally be the source of ire, but he is compliant for the most part. For the creativity portion of his screen time, he found a drawing program on his iPad that teaches him how to draw transformers and he's been doing it every night and is proud of his drawing. On the weekends and days when he's out of school we expand it to two hours (1hr/1hr)--which I'm not too proud of an am still not sold on.Empowering your child means being willing to let them fail. This takes some willpower and both parents must buy in to this or it fails. My wife and I are still trying to get on the same script with this, but it’s likely going to take some semi-formal documentation noting what we’ve both agreed to do.I look forward to reading the second half of the book. Thank you for this!

This was great. I'm a research-aholic and this book was eye-opening for me. I only have a 2.5 year old and a 3 month old right now, but I want to help with their education wherever I can!My biggest takeaway for them, is limiting the iPad use (we don't have a TV they can access, so it's their only screen time) to 45 minutes/day using a kitchen timer. My eldest knows that time is up for the day whenever that goes off!I will read and re-read sections of the book as I need to, I'm sure. But, I also loved the homework section using time based on their age. Very interesting!

A MUST READ BOOK!! I purchased this incredible book and I encourage parents and educators with children of all ages to read this book. The techniques advised to get children and parents on an appropriate age level routine, at home, for screen time, doing homework and routine bedtimes has helped my family become more unified and there is much less stress and much more peace in our home. Educators will also find a wealth of information which can be applied in the classroom and shared with other teachers. It is a must read...for parents and educators! Enjoy!

I absolutely loved this book! I have two small children and I think every parent should read this book to get their kids on a healthy path with limiting screen time, establishing sleep routines, and healthy learning habits. This book was a very easy read and has a wealth of information that seems really relevant in this day in age where we are flooded with technology. I love how it’s backed up by research and case studies & isn’t preachy at all. It carries very sound advice in my opinion! Hands down – 5 stars!

Well written, contains a lot of information about how children learn. Ideas are applicable to daily routine. I like the ideaOf 10 minutes per grade level homework which doesn't usually happen when the children reach middle school. I like the way they encourage the parents to have the children time themselves as they read; this gives them a sense of control over their reading. I usually give little rewards when my kids read longer than they have to.

This book opened my eyes so much. I definitely made some changes at our house after reading this. My 9 year old has always struggled with homework and not wanted to do it. It was a battle for the whole evening. Now he does his homework right after school no questions asked. I would highly recommend this book to any parents of school age children.

A must read for parents and educators. Gives study backed information on the plight of our children these days. If you are looking how to manage media in your home and how to raise a strong child, I totally recommend this book!

Great information driven by a large amount of data. I'm an analytical and data driven person. This book is extremely well versed in the data behind what makes kids successful. I originally bought it because of the data about the impacts of 'screen time'. It is very helpful in that regard as well as several other aspects of raising children and providing the boundaries around that.

This book gave me quite a bit of food for thought. There is quite a bit of overlap with other parenting books (validating emotions, praise for effort rather than achievement, allowing children to make their own choices and learn from the consequences as much as possible). However I found the sections that focused on habits related to media, homework, time-management and so on quite interesting - the book is informed by the Learning Habits Survey conducted in 2013 of 50000 students across the US and and it was nice to read a book attempting to be based on actual evidence.Where it failed slightly for me was assuming that the goal of parenting was good educational results, assuming that correlation implied causation and looking at children's habits rather than parents' habits (the latter of which you actually have power over!). It also wasn't always clear which recommendations in the book came directly from the survey and which from the authors' personal experience. Oh and the authors seem to have an obsession with children making their own beds - don't they have duvets in the states?!Despite being able to poke holes in some of the arguments, the book is a good guide for anybody trying to take an 'authoritative' approach to parenting. It complements Kazdin's 'The Everyday Parenting Toolkit', Faber and Mazlish's 'How to Talk to Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids will Talk' and Duhigg's 'The Power of Habit' pretty well. It does encourage the creation of household rules and consistency in terms of applying those rules, but is anti-punishment.The book divides its recommendations into 'eight essential learning habits': media management, academic homework and reading, time management, goal-setting, effective communication, responsible decision-making, concentrated focus and self-reliance ('grit'). The sections on media and homework are pretty detailed and the book will definitely inform the approach that I take to homework with my children.It concludes with '21 Family Challenges' which are one-day experiments such as a role swap between children and parents, a challenge to get everybody to use media to create something new (as opposed to using media for consumption), or getting each person in the family to do something adventurous which the haven't done before.Overall, definitely a worthwhile read with ideas and suggestions that I hadn't seen elsewhere.

No te cuenta nada revolucionario pero te reafirma en tus convicciones en el uso de aparatos electrónicos con tus hijos. Usar para crear contenido (fotos, música...) no para consumirlo de forma pasiva.

Every parent must read this book. It has practical solutions on disciplining the kids. Overall love this book.