Your child has an assignment due tomorrow. He wants you to help. In fact, he wants you to do it.

Homework battles frequently occur. But how much should you as a parent help?

There are no right or wrong answers, but there are some things you can do to help your child complete his own homework:

• First, you need to understand how much homework is expected of him. Many times this information is given out at the beginning of the year. But if it isn’t totally clear to you, call his teacher and find out exactly what is expected. Knowing exactly what is expected helps keep him on track.

• You need to make sure he has enough time to do the assigned work. Don’t let other activities prevent doing homework. Homework should be a high priority.

• Be sure you have a specific place for him to do his work. The dining room table is great. Sometimes it can be difficult for a child to complete work in his own room. It also helps to have him close by, so you talk about how he is doing.

• Let him see your interest. Ask questions about what he is doing. Make comments to him when you see him doing a good job. We all need to hear when we are doing something really well.

• Expect a lot from your child. Your expectations are like goals for him to work toward. Think of ways your child can work based upon his age. Even preschoolers should have some expectations for helping and for doing schoolwork.

Talk with your child about his homework. What are his feelings about it? Does it help him learn what the teacher is trying to teach? How much time does it usually take? Find out his feelings about homework so you can help him.

Talking together about drugs, school, teachers, stories, friends, difficulties, today, and happy times are all subject you should be talking about together. Talking with him increases his ability to communicate. This is an important skill in his success in school and eventually in getting future jobs.

He really needs to become comfortable talking about all kinds of subjects. You are a great teacher to help him learn to talk about many things in life.

You are helping your child in many ways. This is another one. This meets two goals. He has some support for getting his homework done and he increases his talking skills.

Cynthia Martin is the founder of the First Teacher program and former executive director of Parenting Matters Foundation, which published newsletters for parents, caregivers and grandparents.