When the work becomes more challenging in middle school, many children flounder. It's grueling to watch a child struggle, and you want to help -- but what's the best strategy? Do you offer homework assistance only when it's asked for, or do you roll up your sleeves and go over the work with your child, question by question? Most importantly, how much help is too much? Take this quiz to test your level of involvement in your child's studies.

Contributed by Charlene Giannetti and Margaret Sagarese, iVillage's Teen Experts and authors of Parenting 911 and The Roller-Coaster Years.

  1. Your son has an English paper due the next day. You don't want another late night, so after dinner you encourage him to dig right in. Instead he makes several detours -- playing with the dog, talking on the phone and horsing around with his little brother. When bedtime approaches, he is staring at a blank computer screen. You:
    • Take him to task for procrastinating and insist he stay up until the paper is finished
    • Offer to type it for him while he talks it out so he can get it done and you can go to bed
    • Stick to your guns and insist he go to bed
  1. An upcoming math test has your daughter traumatized. When she wakes up with a stomachache and refuses to go to school, you:
    • Let her stay home, but encourage her to study so she can make up the test when she goes back
    • Tell her you know she is scared about the test and send her off to school
    • Allow her to stay home -- she won't do well if she's sick

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