How To Help Your Kids Overcome Stress During The Exam Period
Education is the best legacy that parents can give to their children. It equips them with the right skills to take on life challenges and scale through every hurdle in the journey. Since education is a stage-by-stage process, there is the need to evaluate at the end of every stage to determine if a child is qualified enough to pass. In the academic world, this evaluation comes in the form of tests and examinations. Though it is dreaded by a lot of students, it is impossible to run from taking exams. As a parent or guardian, you need to put in the effort to help your child relieve stress during the examination. If you do not know how to go about that, here are some tips that would be of great help.
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Prepare A Study Plan
Exams do not come unannounced like a thief in the middle of the night. Instead, the school or examination body will give you and your kids a heads up. Schools and other examination bodies take the time to release an announcement before the exam. After the announcement, a timetable will be released to know the order in which the child will have to wait for the exam.
This gives you ample time to plan ahead of the exam. Draft a visible study scheme and make sure that the child follows this scheme religiously. To make the plan easy for both you and the child, create different times for reading, answering questions, and trying practice tests.
You can ask your child to invite a few friends over as reading partners or encourage them to study in groups. This helps the kid to realize areas of strength and weakness and to build self-confidence.
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Recognize Strengths and Weaknesses
No two kids have the same strengths and weaknesses. While one can be a maths whiz, another one can be a science geek. Another one can excel in IT or remember everything about history. The point is that as parents or guardians, you must help your children to identify their strengths and weaknesses. This makes it easier for you to create a study plan. You can allocate more time to the weaknesses. Do not only teach the children to read and answer questions but also help them to build their speed and accuracy.
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Exercise and Entertainment
This is not an academic activity and a lot of parents do not see the need for a child to exercise while preparing for an exam. However, all work and no play make Jack a dull boy. You need to allow your child to engage in any physical activity for at least 20 minutes every 2-3 hours. This break can help to refresh and rejuvenate them making them assimilate better. It also helps to get rid of stress. You can let them play outside, watch their favorite show, meditate, or take deep breaths. You can encourage them to learn skateboarding as it is a form of working out while also having a chance to go out and enjoy the outdoors as well.
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Proper Feeding and Rest
Part of your exam study scheme for your child should include the time to eat and sleep. As much as the child needs to stay awake to read and understand, the brain also needs sleep to function properly. The examination period is not the best time to have constipation and other digestion-related issues. Fill your children's meal with light food containing vitamins. You can get magnesium gummies for kids which will help increase concentration and energy levels.
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Encouragement
Nothing soothes the mind of a child-like words of comfort from a caring parent. While you are helping the child to study and assimilate, always chip in words of encouragement to motivate the child. There will be more opportunities later on in life for a child to succeed. It is never too late to get better. Deter from condemning a child after a poor performance, instead, open your arms wide and be the child's comforter. While you supervise your child's study, give the child the liberty to make decisions. Teach your child not to discuss the questions of an exam after the exam.
Final Words
Failure is not the opposite of success, rather it is a pathway to success. If a child performs poorly in an exam, do not give up on the child. Create more opportunities to learn. Avoid comparing the child to other kids; it impels self-esteem.