When Homework Battles Aren’t Just a Phase: Identifying Cognitive Skill Weaknesses

For many families, homework time feels like a daily battlefield. Tears, frustration, procrastination, and endless negotiations can make even the simplest assignments drag on for hours. While it’s normal for kids to resist homework occasionally, persistent struggles may signal something deeper—cognitive skill weaknesses that make learning harder than it should be.

Common Homework Struggles and the Cognitive Skills Behind Them

1. My Child Takes Forever to Finish Homework

Does your child spend an excessive amount of time on assignments that should take only 20–30 minutes? Weak processing speed may be to blame. Processing speed is the brain’s ability to take in, interpret, and respond to information efficiently. When it’s weak, even simple tasks can feel overwhelming and slow.

Slow processing speed leading to slow work can look like:

• Feeling overwhelmed and tending to procrastinate because they know it’s going to be so long and hard
• Taking a long time on math, reading, or writing assignments because their ability to recall the basics (like math facts or how to spell common words) isn’t automatic or efficient
• Struggling to problem-solve because they experience cognitive overload where their brain just can’t keep up

2. My Child Can’t Seem to Focus on Homework

If your child is constantly distracted, unable to sit still, or zoning out during assignments, attention skills could be the issue. There are different types of attention, including sustained attention (staying focused over time), selective attention (tuning out distractions), and divided attention (juggling multiple tasks). Weaknesses in these areas can make completing homework a struggle.

Difficulties with attention during homework can look like:

• Needing to reread instructions multiple times before they can do a task (this could also be a working memory issue—read about the difference here.)
• Getting side-tracked or distracted by the slightest thing
• Needing constant reminders to stay on task or get back to what they’re supposed to be doing

3. My Child Forgets What They Just Read or Learned

Does your child read a passage but immediately forget what it was about? Or do they struggle to recall instructions minutes after hearing them? Weak working memory can cause these difficulties. Working memory is the brain’s ability to hold and manipulate information temporarily—essential for following multi-step directions, solving math problems, and comprehending what’s read.

More issues with working memory can look like:

• Forgetting key pieces of information in instructions, resulting in incomplete work or “careless” errors
• Asking for repeated instructions or needing to re-read multiple times
• Having trouble with multi-step math problems where they need to hold one number in their head while doing something else (like for word problems)

4. My Child Hates Writing Assignments

If getting your child to write a few sentences feels like pulling teeth, the issue might be with skills like logic & reasoning or executive functioning. Logic and reasoning help kids organize thoughts and express ideas clearly, while executive functioning skills are crucial for self-monitoring to recognize errors, impulse control, and forward thinking/planning. Weaknesses in these areas can make writing exhausting and discouraging.

Other issues with logic or executive functioning can look like:

• Always asking “what should I do next?” instead of taking initiative
• Needing constant direction as to what they should do and when
• Inability to recognize when they make a mistake on their work

5. My Child Is Smart but Struggles with Math

Some kids excel in certain areas but struggle with math concepts. This may indicate weaknesses in math-related cognitive skills such as visual-spatial processing (understanding number placement and patterns) or logic & reasoning (solving word problems and understanding formulas).

Read More: Why Do Some Kids Hate Math? >>

Addressing the Root Cause of Homework Struggles

If your child’s homework battles feel never-ending, it’s important to look beyond behavior and consider what’s happening in their brain. Cognitive skills—like memory, attention, processing speed, and reasoning—form the foundation of learning. When one or more of these skills is weak, schoolwork becomes much harder than it should be.

The good news?

These skills can be strengthened. Unlike tutoring, which focuses on subject matter, LearningRx brain training identifies and strengthens the underlying cognitive skills needed for easier, faster learning. Our one-on-one training programs use research-based techniques to target weak skills, leading to real improvements in learning and confidence.

If you’re ready to end the nightly homework battles and help your child thrive academically, schedule a cognitive skills assessment with LearningRx today. Let’s uncover the root cause and unlock your child’s full potential!

*Individual outcomes may vary.