12 year old lying about homework

[JennStu]

I have a 12 year old boy who has suddenly started lying about completing homework.  We are within 6 weeks of summer vacation.  He is an "A" & "B" student.  Within the last 3 weeks, his grades have dropped dramatically.  His teacher has warned him that if he fails 4th quarter, he will have to complete summer school.  He says he is stressed out because of time limits.  He says he is always being rushed.  I try to encourage him to start his homework when he gets off the bus, but he waits until the very last minute to do it, then he's rushed.  Sometimes, he'll say he has no homework just so he doesn't have to deal with it.  He complains about being so stressed, but he creates more by avoiding and lying about the homework.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Such a sudden change in performance indicates some unusual stress and invites professional intervention. Are you aware of any changes in your son's environment at home , in school or among friends? Has anyone voiced concerns about him? Check with school personnel and see what insights they might have to offer. Take the bull by the horns re: homework schedule, and insist that he come home, take a limited 'break' (i.e., 30-45 minutes) and then tackle his homework.

[babyprayers]

I find that schools these days ARE stressing students out. My DD is 9 and was laggin way behind in math. always getting needs improvement on report cards.. but never once did a teacher contact me I found out... they have these timed math tests 2 min. to do 20 questions.. we tried this at home with my daughter and she started making mistakes and getting all stressed out.. she GOT A 100 % ON HER STATE MATH TEST.she doesnt work well under pressure, as far as homework goes.. maybe he is struggling with it, and its just easier to not do it.. kids are stressed these days in school then have to go home and be stressed out doing homework.. it really stinks if you ask me.