valscot

Talked to my brother about this cos you can't do it in Scotland. Solution: take the offender to the border, cross over and tan their arse. Never hit my kids wanted too at times

Angry White Pyjamas

Thats correct. I've only ever once smacked ours (and I felt like shit afterwards) ...since then the threat of it possibly happening again has been enough at times.

I remember when I was 16 thinking I new it all big hard kid on the block etc ...came home one evening and gave my dad a load of grief. His very words were "Think you're big enough?" I foolishly said yes...had the bruises for about a week or so afterwards.

Ben

That's what it was like in NJ. The amount of homework given to the kids was rediculous and my American neighbours seemed to think it was normal! Then I discovered that the majority of the mothers did the homework for the child - what's the point in that

I love the way our school district does it and I get the impression that the homework amounts are set by NYstate. The students get an agenda each year and at the front of the agenda are all the guidelines for homework. It specifically puts the control in the parents hands by stating that if your child has worked for the time alloted for homework for that grade, and you believe that the child has tried and not finished the set homework, do not continue any longer and put a note in the agenda stating as such. I have only ever had to do this once (I wasn't the only parent as well) and the load of homework given was dropped considerably. More often than not the amount given is a lot less than the maximum allowed and our schools are blue ribbon schools so having such regulations over homework has no effect on the quality of teaching and education.

Kids are kids here and are always outside playing. It is just like the neighbourhood I grew up in in the UK but I know this isn't the case everywhere. When we were in NJ there were no children outside during the school year. that is just sad

Angry White Pyjamas

Good for your kids...at least somewhere here they are having "real" childhoods still.

And this (like a lot of things) seems to be the problem here. There is no NATIONAL standard to anything much. Everything is left to state and county to decide. I realise thats part of the governing mandate to make Federal Govt minimal in everyday life but seriously it just seems to create a lottery for everything.

12 weeks of summer vacation and barely another child was insight here let alone any playing outside. Back home the streets would be full of kids playing footy, running round, on bikes and having a ball. Here they were all at summer camps (read bible school) or home alone and not allowed out to play.

Celtic_Angel

I'm all for scraping homework!!! It's a big waste of time, like elementary school kids don't spend enough time at school, nagging my kids about their homework is the biggest pain in my A$$ right now.....