It’s crunch time! Book reports and term papers are due. Science project and diorama deadlines are looming. High stakes tests are on the way. In the face of all this pressure it’s tempting for children to cheat. A study by the Center for Academic Integrity found that over 70% of high school students admitted to cheating on tests and 60% to having committed plagiarism.

Although technology didn’t create cheating, it does make it awfully easy. For kids who IM when they study, refusing to share answers seems almost mean. For students who learned to cut and paste before they learned to write, borrowing a few paragraphs, or even an entire essay, from a website doesn’t seem like such a big deal. And for kids with cellphones, there are unprecedented opportunities to cheat by, for instance, texting a pal during a test, taking a photo of an exam, or even doing a quick Google search for an answer.

To their credit, many schools are taking measures to make cheating more difficult by, for example, banning cellphones during school hours or even on school grounds. Teachers have also become more creative about designing assignments that make cheating less likely. Some ask students to incorporate their own observations or reflections into writing projects. Others insist on seeing notes, outlines, and rough drafts.

Parents also have an essential part to play. Through experience and example, you can teach your child that working hard is its own reward. Instead of simply emphasizing the final grade which is the evidence of learning, encourage your child to appreciate the process. Point out how good it feels to create artwork, learn a piece of music, master a video game, or acquire a new skill in a sport. That same did-it-myself pride is what kids should experience when they try to understand the new ideas presented by their teachers. Here are other suggestions to make cheating less likely:

Keep on track.

Kids are tempted to cheat when they run out of time to do things right. Find out when big projects are due and put them on a calendar that everyone can see. If the teacher has broken down a large project into smaller deadlines, add them to the calendar. If not, help your child create a timetable and also put those self-imposed deadlines on the calendar.

Discuss collaboration.

Most schools actively teach kids to collaborate on some projects. Talk to your child’s teacher to understand when collaboration is OK and when each person should work independently. Remind your child that collaboration makes sense only when each person does his own share.

Give credit.

Most teachers give students detailed information about how to handle sources for research projects. In general, your child can consider something “common knowledge” after finding it in three or four reliable sources. Otherwise, simple fairness requires that he give credit to the person who came up with the original idea or piece of information.

“Help” wisely.

Providing answers or doing projects for a child is simply another form of cheating. Even worse, it tells your child that you have no confidence in his ability to do what needs to be done. Instead, guide him or her through homework by asking leading questions, demonstrating processes, or pointing out where necessary information can be found.

Control distractions.

When kids work online, they are invariably listening to music, chatting with friends, and checking out websites. That kind of multi-tasking may be OK for some kinds of homework. For big projects or serious study, however, encourage your child to experience the power of uninterrupted concentration by turning off the IM and tunes. If this is a truly unfamiliar experience for your child, start with short sessions (and consider setting a timer if that will make him feel better).

Support honor codes.

Schools with honor codes have less cheating. Unfortunately, officials in such schools often encounter resistance from parents. If your child is accused of cheating, naturally you’ll want to hear his side of the story, but you’ll also want to support school policies. After all, strong anti-cheating policies reward students who do their own work. If your school doesn’t have such policies in place, get the process started with materials from the Josephson Institute at www.charactercounts.org/honoraboveall.htm.

Be clear about consequences.

In addition to school penalties, be sure your child knows there will be at-home consequences for cheating. Explain in advance that you are counting on him to manage homework and ask for help as necessary. Any kind of cheating is evidence that he can’t be trusted to handle those responsibilities alone. As a result, you’ll have to get involved by both, actively supervising study time and limiting access to distractions, including social activities and technology such as video games, television, cell phones, and the Internet.

Finally, parents can take comfort in recent research from the Josephson Institute which found that 98% of students agreed that “it’s important for me to be a person of good character.” In other words, when it comes to education, most kids want to do the right thing. It’s up to us to provide the loving structure that will help them live up to their best expectations of themselves. If we do anything less, we are the ones who are doing the cheating.