Why addressing exam stress as a household can help everyone involved.
We all know the pressure our youngsters will be under over the coming weeks and months as the tension rises ahead of end-of-year exams, whatever the level.
While revision schedules are great for the student involved, sometimes the stress can permeate throughout a household with parents often feeling like the ones going through the process, albeit accompanied with a greater feeling of helplessness.
Thankfully, there are several things guardians can help with so that the tension temperature of exam season is kept to a level where brilliant brains can achieve the best grades possible.
1: Monitor sleep
Sleep is arguably the most important factor where exam revision is concerned, not just in the sense of getting an early night and plenty of rest, but in the statistic that 80% of teens lose between 2-4 hours of sleep each night due to work worries.
This can be a case of failing to fall asleep, experiencing broken sleep, or waking early and not being able to go back to sleep.
Monitoring sleeping pattern means laying a platform for effective study.
2: Distractions
Social media has become the biggest distraction for students in revision phase. Inadvertently, increased time spent on devices for learning can often translate into more time spent on social networks, with this ‘self-medicating’ ultimately becoming counterproductive.
If you feel the distractions are too great, and want to take a firmer hand, consider installing parental controls to block websites like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Make sure to do this in a consultative way rather than imposing a raft of restrictions that your son or daughter will probably resent.
3: Share an interest
From simple investment in the project such as knowing an exam timetable or suggesting different revision techniques or study guides, your youngster will appreciate the fact they aren’t alone in the process, while not feeling that your presence is adding extra stress and burden to what is already a time of fraught nerves.
4: Be the calm one
Staying cool, calm, and collected is going to be the most reassuring thing that a parent can do for their child.
Rehearse a set of calming lines, ideas, and examples of how things almost always work out well. Remind them there are tens of thousands of other students going through the same thing, and point out that exams aren’t the be all and end all – there are always alternative routes to the end goal.
