SOS: Homework Overload

About author / Christine Gable

Culinary enthusiast; kids cuisine and slow cooking; magazine recipe developer; professional writer. Her simple recipes are great for family dinners.

You’ve probably seen them lately. The glazed eyes, the haunted frown. The crinkled forehead … the tight shoulders and neck.

It’s homework overload and it’s happening in towns and cities all over the country.

Sure, we all had homework as kids. But homework is a different animal today. After spending a whole day in school, kids today are finding it harder than ever to set down their backpacks and run outdoors and play until dinner.

That’s where a snack or drink can prime the pump. And there’s really no need to wait until you bake cookies to do this. Don’t think Beaver Cleaver’s mom. Just think … because not only can you make it quicker (and healthier), all you really need is time, boiling water and a tea bag.

Sometimes kids may be working on answering a history question or two—or perhaps jotting down some initial ideas for an essay due the following week. Perhaps they’ve hit the word wall. Instead of letting them suffer in silence—or by themselves—it’s time to answer the SOS.

It’s time to brew a pot of tea or coffee. Sit down together and see what they’re working on, what ideas they have, where those ideas lead. If they’re really blocked, put the work away for while and just connect. I like to offer to write or type their ideas for them. Really. It only takes 10-15 minutes and the result is often astounding. They’ve got all those ideas in their heads but don’t always know how to get them translated from head to hand. Or those ideas get lost in the translation. Or sometimes just talking it out with someone who can listen—really stop and listen—can be the most powerful antidote of all.

And it is easy to overlook and sidestep some of the simplest ways to connect with our kids. Whether you have regular ol' Lipton black teabags, or herbal flavors like peach or lemon, or even exotics like Decaf Vanilla Chai, no matter. Sitting down with a hot drink and an open ear—and even lending an assisting hand can do wonders for your relationship with your kids.

That’s the beauty of food and drink. Not only is it a necessary part of any human’s basic needs in a day, it taps into those other human needs that are just as important: feeling cared about, sharing concerns and just being together.

If your family is like ours, sometimes we can get so busy running here and there and to-and-fro that it’s all too easy to forget to nurture that human connection. So whether you just grab a mug and teabag … or actually set out a plate of healthy snacks (see list below), I encourage you to make the effort and take some time to see if you can connect with your teen today.

Yes, it may seem old-fashioned and goofy—and your teen may laugh or roll their eyes at you—but deep down inside, it often means the world when someone takes the time to ask if they’d like tea or coffee—and then that very same person sits down and looks into their eyes and asks how’s it going.

And then really listen.


Some simple finger food or snack plate ideas that pair well with tea or coffee and homework:

• Whole-grain toast with a touch of butter and cinnamon-sugar
• Whole-grain toast with a teaspoon of low-fat cream cheese and jelly
• Corn chips and salsa
• Carrots and ranch dip
• Apple slices and peanut butter
• Corn chips and hummus
• Carrots or celery and hummus
• Grapes
• Crunchy granola bar
• Crunchy pretzels
• Pretzel sticks and cheese chunks