In this Newsweek article by Daniella Gray, parenting experts weigh in on Kim Kardashian’s headline-making comments about not “believing” in homework.

Danielle Lindner offers her perspective on why so many families are feeling the strain of after-school assignments—and how unstructured time at home plays a vital role in a child’s emotional and social development:

Kim Kardashian made the first celebrity guest appearance on Mafiathon 3 this week, surprising viewers by throwing a table during one of the “Extreme Noodle Game” segments.

But it wasn’t just the prank that got people talking. Kardashian, who is mom to North, 12, Saint, 9, Chicago, 7, and Psalm, 5, revealed that she doesn’t “believe” in homework for her kids.

“I don’t believe in homework,” the 44-year-old said. “But I’m going to tell you why. Kids are in school for eight hours a day. When they come home, they need to also … they do sports, have a life, spend time with their family. I think that homework should be left for in school.”

Kardashian’s comments sparked debate, with some parents applauding her stance and others questioning whether less homework might come at the expense of academic rigor.

Parenting expert Danielle Lindner told Newsweek that the SKIMS co-founder may be onto something.

Lindner said the school day is already long enough and that children often come home with hours of additional work that interfere with sports, family time and rest.

“Most kids in America, even as young as 5 and 6, are walking out of school with a backpack full of additional assignments to get done before the next morning,” Lindner said. “This often competes with any sports they may want to do after school, time they want to spend with their friends socializing, or time they just need to decompress.”

However, not all experts are ready to throw out homework altogether. Dr. Emily Levy is an expert learning specialist and founder of EBL Coaching, a tutoring company for students with special education needs. She told Newsweek that she believes home has real value when used appropriately.

“I believe homework is an important part of schooling if it has purpose and is not designed just to be ‘busy work’,” Levy said.

“Homework allows children to independently practice skills they learned at school and make sure they understand the concepts,” Levy continued.

“Some teachers, however, give out worksheets and assignments just for the sake of [it]. I believe that type of homework doesn’t help children in the way homework should.”

Research on homework is mixed. A 2006 analysis led by Duke University psychologist Harris Cooper found that homework in moderate amounts can improve student achievement, particularly in high school.

But, for younger children, the benefits are minimal—and the stress significant. More-recent studies have echoed that excessive homework may increase anxiety, reduce sleep, and contribute to family conflict.

A 2013 study published in The Journal of Experimental Education found that high school students who averaged more than three hours of homework per night reported greater stress, health problems and even alienation from friends and family.

For Lindner, the issue isn’t whether kids should practice what they learn, but how. She suggested teachers could reinforce skills during the school day instead of sending work home.

Lindner added that children need unstructured time to build emotional resilience and social skills.

“Without some unstructured downtime, they lose opportunities to … practice how to self-regulate, how to deal with big feelings, how to self-soothe,” Lindner said. “[It’s just as important as academic readiness.”

Homework doesn’t just affect kids—it spills over into family dynamics. Given that, in most cases, homework can’t exactly be a solo task.

“It’s often a new way of solving a problem or a totally new math algorithm that no one has ever heard of before,” Lindner said. “This becomes four hours of parent homework and four hours of stress.”

Instead of nightly worksheets, Lindner recommended occasional check-ins or long-term projects that build creativity, time management and executive functioning skills.

“Our children will have years and years of life to be overworked and overstressed,” Lindner said. “Now is the time to give them the skills they need to live as healthy, happy [and] balanced adults.”

This article was published on the Newsweek website: