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The answer to this question is simple: yes. The problem comes in when defining 'too much' homework. One solution is to break it up by age/grade. Young children should have little to no homework. Going over papers as 'review' with parents is a good idea though. At about grade 3 students should start seeing some homework, but it should still be minimal. If your child is in grades K through 5, and is consistently having to spend at least an hour doing homework (not playing at doing homework), then the child has too much homework. After that, 2 hours every day is excessive, but the student should have some homework most nights.

If you feel your child is spending too much time at his/her homework, you should first monitor him/her to makes sure they are actually spending the time doing homework and not 'messing around'. This is one reason it's best, at least for the first few years, to have children do their homework where parents can monitor.

If your child is not goofing off or procrastinating, the next thing to do is go to the teacher and discuss it with him/her. It is possible the child is struggling because of a learning disability, and needs intervention. You can start the process by talking to the teacher if you believe this is the case.

If your child has no other issues, and is spending too much time in homework, you as the parent must talk to the teacher(s), principal, anyone you have too to help your child. Your child already sits most of 6 hours in school. He/she does not need to be spending much more time at it at home. Teachers have been forced to increase homework as the testing movement has made their jobs more difficult and the stakes much higher. Whatever the cause, excess homework is bad for your child for many reasons.

1. Burnout. If your child is cramming facts into their head all day and then expected to continue it for extended times at home, the will burn out and rebel.

2. Resentment. Your child will begin to feel as if he/she is in a 'prison' of schooling. They will resent school, they will resent you, and they will again, rebel. Even when children don't overtly rebel, they have subtle ways of rebelling such as having 'stomach aches' or 'forgetting the homework'....

3. Anxiety. A child who feels overwhelmed by homework, will begin to show signs of high anxiety as they feel more and more as if they can't keep up, or that they will 'disappoint' parents/teachers if they don't keep up, causing them to stress even more.

4. Blowing off steam. Kids need

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