Posted on: Sunday, September 8, 2002

How to help kids with homework

Veteran middle-school teacher Kevin McCarthy tells Parents magazine it's the top question he hears from parents every year: Should I help with homework? Here's his advice:

• Help develop a system for keeping track of assignments. If your child is having a hard time, ask his teacher to initial his assignment pad at the end of the day to confirm that he's written everything down.

• Encourage a set time for doing homework, either right after school or later in the evening. Ban distractions such as TV, phone calls and computers until all work is complete.

• Don't sit alongside your child, correct his mistakes or do his work for him. His teachers need to know what he's learning and where he could use some extra help.

Get a black box for your kid's car

Pilots and commercial truck drivers have used them for years. Now, a company is marketing a "black box" recorder for parents to install in their kids' cars.

The company, Road Safety International, says its Road Safety On-Board Computer System is much like a black box flight data recorder used in commercial aircraft. It monitors the driver's performance second by second.

If he drives too fast, it gives him an audio warning to slow down. If the teen drives aggressively (hard cornering, hard braking, pedal-to-the-metal starts), it gives her a warning to back off. Ignore the warning, and the sound turns into a steady loud tone that won't go away until the driver stops the unsafe behavior.

The boxes debut next month for $280. See roadsafety.com.