Is it such a bad thing for a kid to know their parents aren't infallible?

Is it better for a parent to sit down and work out the problem alongside the child rather then just 'give' them the answer?

Yes definately parents should work out the problem with the child. Children need to learn responsibility, and that things will not be handed to them. If a parent is always doing the homework for the child, then the child will always be asking for help and not problem-solving themselves.

Originally Posted by Prada's Meadow

Is it better for a parent to sit down and work out the problem alongside the child rather then just 'give' them the answer?

There's an old saying that answers this very well:

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life.

I never, ever gave my daughter answers on her homework. The usual drill was that she was expected to work on her homework independently. If she had problems and needed some guidance, then she was encouraged to ask for our help. We never gave her the answers but, with math problems for example, ask her what she had done. We could see where she was making the mistake, but we would ask her how she could do the problem differently or ask her where she thought she was not working out the problem correctly. It forced her to think, analyze and learn. Oh, she would get testy and we'd get the "WHY WON'T YOU JUST TELL ME THE ANSWER!!!" but we never would budge. It paid off. She finished high school as a member of the National Honor Society and BETA club.

Yes, parents should work out for the answer with their child. That's what my parents did with me.

My parents never did my homework, it was up to me. I'd never do that if I had a kid! I knew a girl in college who had parents write her papers, really ridiculous... I think once you start "helping" it is hard for parents to stop. Real help is teaching your children how to do their homework and problem solve on their own... like you said, working out a problem along with them but not feeding them answers or taking over.

The school my son attends asks parents NOT to correct any homework mistakes. This way the teacher knows students' weak spots and they can concentrate on them in class.

As a teacher...please don't do your childs work. You can help them but if they are not getting something, don't give them the answers. Then I think they understand the concept when really they may need help or a reteaching of the lesson.
There is nothing I hate more than givng a kid an "A" when I feel pretty sure mom or dad did the big (or little) project for them. But, I am not going to call and ask. But I can usually tell, and once the grade is in the child will usually admit it to me.

Parents absolutely should not be doing their childrens' homework. My mom and dad always sat down with me (in elem & middle school) to help me (if I needed) with my homework. But they never EVER did my homework for me...

They won't be able to pass the test if their parents do their homework for them.

NO way should parents give the answers, they should help, but not give the answers.

Originally Posted by marymoon

As a teacher...please don't do your childs work. You can help them but if they are not getting something, don't give them the answers. Then I think they understand the concept when really they may need help or a reteaching of the lesson. There is nothing I hate more than givng a kid an "A" when I feel pretty sure mom or dad did the big (or little) project for them. But, I am not going to call and ask. But I can usually tell, and once the grade is in the child will usually admit it to me.

I'm a teacher too, and I agree. It is very obvious most of the time when the parents do the homework for the child. Sometimes I feel like sending the assignment back to the parent with a note saying "Congratulations, you got an A on a grade two level project!"

If a child needs help on an assignment the parent should help the child. But the parent should never do the child's homework-how is the child supposed to learn the material?

I could never do my child's homework...but helping is totally different. I would tell him to try to work it out himself & I'll check it. If he gets it right than Yeah..he did it all by himself. But, if he doesn't really get any of it, I will step in & help. I used to help alot w/ my 2 younger brothers.

NO WAYYY!
i think kids should learn to be independent from young age.
i'm a second child, and my parents were always too busy with my older sis or younger brother which left me feel abandones sometimes, but i do learn to be independent which is a great thing for me when i'm older.
i go everywhere alone, take care of my things alone since i'm 10 yrs old, and now i'm living out of my parents house where my siblings still live with my parents.

My parent never helped me with my work. I always wanted to do it on my own, plus they were both very busy. I do encourage my sister to sit whit her son and have him "teach" her what he is doing, but she flakes out AND he doesn't like doing his work. I guess it really depends on the children and parents.

i never do/help with homeworks but I do make exceptions for projects (eg. diarama) otherwise I would pull my hair out with the thought of the eventual mess they will leave behind