Parents in poorer countries devote more time to their kids' homework

Lack of time is the most common reason for not helping out

HOMEWORK is the bane of a child’s life. It can also weigh heavily on parents, who either struggle to get their charges to finish it, or even worse, must brush up on their own rusty skills to help out. Parental involvement in education contributes to a child’s eventual success. A new report by the Varkey Foundation, an educational charity, shows how much time parents put in to their children’s education. The survey looked at 29 countries and found that parents in emerging economies spend much more time helping with homework than their counterparts in richer countries.

In India, parents spend 12 hours a week on average assisting their kids—five hours longer than the global average. Virtually none said they did not help at all. That is in stark contrast with parents in Finland and Japan, who put in around three hours on average. Indeed, only 5% of Finns say they spend at least seven hours helping their children with homework, and 31% do not spend any time at all.

Parental concern (or guilt) about this is more in evidence in some countries than others. The survey also asked parents whether they felt that they were spending the right amount of time. A majority of those in India and Vietnam felt that the time they spent was about right. In Uganda, Peru, Malaysia and Brazil more than 40% of parents fretted that they were not doing enough, despite helping more than the global average. By contrast, the French adopt a laissez-faire attitude: only 11% spend seven or more hours helping, but only 22% feel the time they spend is too little.

The reasons for not helping are, of course, varied. The most common reason is one that nearly all parents will identify with: time. More than half say they are just too busy. Parents are also held back by their own education. Around half of those in China worry about their own lack of subject knowledge, compared with 29% globally. More encouragingly, sometimes children just do not want their help: 44% of Finnish parents cite this, the highest share of any country. And they may not need it: Finland ranks among the top ten countries in international tests.