Entertainment
Alison Hammond ‘doesn’t think homework is necessary’ as she shares dyslexic son’s struggles
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Alison Hammond has stressed her staunch opposition to homework on This Morning, explaining that she finds it ‘unnecessary’ and outlining how her son struggles with additional work with dyslexia.
On Friday’s edition of This Morning, co-hosts Alison and Dermot O’Leary were joined by Gyles Brandreth in the studio and Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden over video chat.
While going over the latest news stories, Dermot, 48, brought up Professor Robert Winston’s belief that homework is ‘ruining family life and preventing children from pursuing their hobbies’.
Alison, 46, said that she ‘totally’ agreed with the professor, saying that she feels as though homework has ‘limited purpose’ in her view.
‘It actually causes a lot of stress on the family,’ she said.
‘If you’re doing after school clubs, you’ve got loads of stuff to do plus family life, and then to have a full on essay to do when you come home which could have probably been done at school, it’s a lot of stress on the family life, on me, pressuring to get it done. I just think it’s not necessary.’
Alison added that she doesn’t ‘feel like any of my son’s homework benefits him in the slightest’.
Gyles, 73, shared his support for homework clubs, where students can get their homework done together in groups rather than among the distractions of home.
However, Alison then questioned how children with special needs would fare in homework clubs.
‘But what if you have children who have special needs and they can’t finish it in that club? And it then spills over?’ Alison asked.
‘For instance, my son’s dyslexic. It spills over into family life. It’s quite stressful. The homework becomes his life and it’s very stressful. He’s stressed, I’m stressed.’
In March this year, Alison opened up about how her 16-year-old son Aiden was the one who encouraged her to take on her new role with Dermot on This Morning.
Speaking to Hello!, she said that Aiden is ‘like my twin who was born 30 years later’, as he was born on her birthday, 5 February, in 2005.
‘Our personalities are very similar. We lock horns a lot, I’m not going to lie. Sometimes he thinks he knows it all, or that he’s older than me,’ she said.
‘Ultimately, it’s a balancing act to parent him in the best way that I can, but also still allow his personality to come through and have his say in things.’
This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV.
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