Across many Nigerian homes, the evening routine of parents guiding children through homework is slowly fading.

Rising living costs and the need to juggle multiple sources of income are leaving many parents with little time or energy to assist their children with school assignments.

Some parents say the pressure has become so intense that they now return homework to teachers unfinished, arguing that the workload given to very young pupils is excessive.

Economy & Lifestyle gathered accounts from parents who say the combination of financial strain, long work hours and heavy school tasks has changed how families deal with homework.

Parents push back on heavy assignments

Judith Shaba, a women’s wear vendor, said she recently returned her daughter’s homework to the school after being asked to help with a French assignment.

Her daughter is four years old.

“My daughter’s teacher gave her French homework for a subject they only started teaching the previous week,” she said. “I returned it to the school. How does a four-year-old learn a new language in one week?”

Fatimah Braimoh, a foodstuff vendor who also works a regular office job, said the pressure of balancing work and parenting leaves little time for long homework sessions.

“My son’s teacher gave him eight different assignments,” she said. “I work a nine-to-five job and also run a side hustle. Every day follows the same routine. I hardly have time for myself.”

She said she eventually told her son to complete only the tasks he could handle.

“A child wakes up at 6 a.m., returns from school by 4 p.m., and still has to face a pile of homework,” she said. “Children need time to rest too.”

Concerns over workload for young pupils

Some parents say the volume and difficulty of assignments do not match the children’s age.

Sheriffat Audu, who runs a small provision shop, said she returned her son’s homework after he was asked to write numbers from one to one thousand alongside other assignments.

“My child is in primary one,” she said. “There was quantitative reasoning, verbal reasoning, English language, tracing and painting all at once.”

She said she told the teacher to limit homework to one or two tasks if necessary.

“Both the child and the parent return home exhausted,” she said. “That small time left should be for rest.”

Some parents turn to AI tools

While others reject the homework altogether, some parents have started using technology to cope.

Judith Ogedengbe, a non-teaching staff member at a tertiary institution, said she now relies on artificial intelligence tools to help her child.

“A friend introduced me to ChatGPT,” she said. “That’s what I now use to help my son with his homework.”

She said repeated complaints to the school about excessive assignments produced little change.

“It’s not easy hustling all day and returning home to piles of homework,” she said. “The corrections, the shouting, trying to make the child concentrate. It can be overwhelming.”

Education observers say the situation reflects a wider reality facing many Nigerian families, where economic pressure is reshaping daily routines at home. For many parents, survival now takes priority over evening homework sessions.