By Marge Eberts
and Peggy Gisler
Question: What are some ways to cut down on the two hours or more my seventh-grader spends on his homework almost every night? Because of his activities and dinner, he can rarely get started on doing his homework until 7:30 or 8 at night. — Too Much Time
Answer: According to the informal time rule of 10 minutes of homework a night for each grade level in school, your son should not need to spend more than 70 minutes most nights on homework. He, of course, is spending almost twice that time.