Study: Young Children Given Too Much Homework Causing Stress For Them And Families.

The Boston Globe (9/1, Albernaz) reports The American Journal of Family Therapy published a study that found young children are often given too much homework leading to stress for them and their parents. The National Educational Association and the National PTA both endorse the “10-minute rule”, which says students should only be given around 10 minutes of homework for each grade level (e.g. a second grader should get 20 minutes). The study found that first graders had an average of 28 minutes of homework per night, and that second graders had an average of 29 minutes per night. A contributing editor of the study Stephanie Donaldson-Pressman says, “Homework takes time away from free play and learning creative thinking. It increases stress and cuts down on time for building social skills.”