Do piles of homework really help students learn or simply overwhelm them? According to scholastic.com “A long-term national survey found that the percentage of six- to eight-year-olds who reported having homework on a given day had risen from 34 percent in 1981 to 64 percent in 2002, and the weekly number of time spent studying at home has more than doubled.” Most students get bad grades because they haven't done their homework. The reason is not because students are lazy, but because they don't have time to finish it. An abundance of homework can prevent students from participating in after-school activities; such as learning outside of school, playing sports, spending time with family or even having hobbies that they do in their free time that they don't have. A lot of homework doesn't help students, it only affects them. Having less homework has been a debate for a while. Psychcentral.com looks at every aspect of the issue and states, “Homework can actually provide preparation, practice, and reinforcement for lessons. Homework can help children learn important life skills such as organization, time management and how to use resources. It is also true that homework can be challenging, mistake-reinforcing, and stressful. Continued failure in homework, like continued failure during school hours, lowers self-esteem and makes a child less and less likely to succeed. When homework becomes a nightly battle, it can damage the parent-child relationship. busy and not “waste” their time watching TV, playing video games, etc… The other…… middle of paper……or plays a role in sports because the more family members play sports, the more each family member will appreciate each other each other. It will also make the family grow closer to each other by going to games and encouraging each other. Sports is just one of the many reasons why there should be less homework. The solution is to balance time and a method suggested by Factual Facts: "All children and even adults should adopt an 8-8-8 circadian rhythm." rhythm of life in which eight hours of work, eight hours of play and eight hours of rest (sleep)…” If students can do two homework assignments a day, they will be able to get the practice they need and to have extra time to relax, play sports, read a book or whatever he likes. As long as they choose something that will make them healthier, smarter and more relaxed; the possibility of depression and stress is reduced.