Sunday Night Dread

Many children and adults alike grapple with the classic anguish of Sunday nights; the freedom of the weekend is slipping away and thoughts of the new week loom. Sunday nights can be a particularly stressful time for students who want to enjoy every possible moment of the weekend and “save” their assignments for the last minute. As most parents and students realize saving assignments not only aids stress to an often tense evening but often results in incomplete or poorly executed work.

Here are a few suggestions that I and the families I work with have found as helpful ways to break the cycle and transform Sunday evenings into a pleasurable time:

• Create a Homework Plan Early

Parents and children should sit down on Friday afternoon or evening to create a weekend homework schedule. Spreading out the work over the course of two days and trying to accomplish as much as possible Sat & Sun mornings can not only significantly lessen the blow, but also allows time for purchasing supplies or trips to the library as necessary.

• Systematically Relinquish Control

Creating a structure schedule for homework completion which children know they will be held accountable for can be highly effective strategy for preventing procrastination. However, working under constant monitoring can seem stifling to most students. Since it is highly unlikely that parents will provide homework supervision throughout their child’s academic career and it is in the student’s best interest to engage in self-monitoring it is important to create a compromise. The most effective type of compromise is one in which both members are clear about their responsibilities. For instance, a contract that clearly states parent and child will work together to create a weekend homework schedule for 4 weeks, and then the child will be given the freedom to create his/her own weekend schedule but cannot save all homework until Sunday night and if all homework is saved for Sunday night the 4 week cycle will begin again. A parent who systematically relinquishes control of the weekend homework plan as his/her child can demonstrate the independent ability to be proactive about assignments, will provide an healthy foundation for planning and time management.

• Replace Negative Associations with Positive Ones

Creating an enjoyable Sunday Night ritual can not only replace negative end of weekend associations but it can also provide the motivation to complete work ahead of time. Utilizing the evening as a time to gather as a family to engage in a relaxing activity like having a movie night complete with popcorn and tickets, playing a game or talking a walk for ice-cream can provide a tranquil transition from the weekend to the new week.