A TikTok mom thought her son’s kindergarten homework was too much and ended up opting him out of homework for the year. She and her son were struggling to get the homework done, and it was causing him “mental, physical stress.”
“I want him to love to learn,” Cayley said.
A PSA for Parents: You Can Opt Your Child Out of Kindergarten Homework
Cayley, a mom from Arizona, took to TikTok to share her experience with all parents. While the homework struggle is real, Cayley didn’t know she could opt her child out of homework.
“I just sent my son’s kindergarten teacher a cutsie little email saying, ‘I’m sorry. Based on the stress—mental, physical—and anxiety it’s causing my kid, we are done,” said Cayley.
She explained that the teacher sent home a packet of homework for the first month of school. It contained 15-20 pages, double-sided, of worksheets to be completed at home. “It doesn’t look like it’s all that bad,” Cayley admits.
“We have been working on it.” The mom continued, “It is causing him mental, physical stress.” She described how she felt “guilty” for turning off all screens and going “radio silent” until her son had breakfast and completed a couple pages of the homework.
The mom and son both started crying. “This is so much work for him,” she said.
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The kindergartener admitted that he no longer liked school and didn’t want to go back.
“You’re five!” Cayley said as she held up five fingers. “The only thing you should be worried about is learning and maybe what time snacktime is.” She’s concerned that the school and society are teaching kids that unfinished work needs to be brought home to complete. “We work to live, we don’t live to work,” she explained.
“I want my kids to love school. I want him to love to learn,” Cayley said.”I want him to have fun. I want him to enjoy it.”
Cayley posted, “I hope it inspires more parents to do it for their children ❤️ #momsoftiktok”
@cayleyxox I hope it inspires more parents to do it for their children ❤️ #momsoftiktok ♬ original sound – cayleyxo
With thousands of views and interactions, the video quickly went viral. Parents with kids of all ages could resonate with the homework struggle. Though, the opinions varied.
“To the parents who take time to do homework with their child, WE SEE YOU and we appreciate you!” Tori posted. “It truly makes a difference.”
Han supported homework for more than the content. “Homework teaches way more than the content. It teaches planning, organization, discipline, responsibility, working hard and the list goes on. All which are sooo important.”
“As a Kinder teacher, I send homework to those who needed it, I never collected it. it’s up to parents if they want to help or let kid fall behind,” said Kat.
Kindergarten Mom Gives Update After Opting Son Out of Homework
Cayley posted again on TikTok, this time with an update on her son’s homework situation. She said her initial post got “some traction.” Good Morning America “That just sounds like a lot of work for me,” said Cayley said.
She was pleased to share that her son’s teacher adjusted the homework plan for the year. Instead of a packet, the teacher included the students’ homework within the parent newsletter. The homework, now simplified, included things such as sight words and a reading log.
