Teens spend seven hours a day at school learning, with a majority of them attending after school activities such as practice, rehearsals, and club meetings, spending even more hours at school. Then, on top of all of the hard work and dedication students put into their school, teachers assign homework.  

The Stanford Report found that too much homework is linked to greater stress levels, higher risk of health problems, and having less time with family and friends. While many argue that homework can help a child gain responsibility and time-management skills that they may need for the future, it is clear that homework has more negative effects than positive ones.

Parents are now facing the repercussions of their child’s struggle with homework. Kenneth Barish wrote for Psychology Today about a parents’ battle with a child over their school work saying, “More often than not, battles over homework lead to vicious cycles of nagging by parents and avoidance or refusal by children, with no improvement in a child’s school performance.”

Barish goes on to talk about how a child who doesn’t do their homework should not be perceived as lazy: “These children are not lazy. Your child may be anxious, frustrated, discouraged, distracted, or angry—but this is not laziness.”

Children have an enormous work-load that they have to balance between school and home. Many students participate in after-school activities such as sports or musical theatre and many students have jobs as well. On top of all the work they put in, teens still need to have a proper social life to encourage healthy relationships and allow them to grow in the world. 

Teens and children need to learn and mature from more than just school work; they need to build relationships and friendships, and they need to express themselves through art and sports. What they don’t need is the excessive amount of homework that only provides students with stress and anxiety.