Managing Exam Fear

With the exams drawing near, it is important that your child remains at peak functioning conditions. You don’t want unnecessary fear and stress to affect his grades. Here are some exam tips worth practicing to maintaining good morale and mental states for your child.

1. Plan revision ahead.
Have a structured revision plan and making sure your child sticks to it. Children are not matured enough to draw up long-term plans and targets. It is important that parents supervise them and make sure that they are kept pace with the plan. But do sit down with your child to work out the schedule with him so that he has a sense of ownership over the plan.

2. Break all challenges into manageable tasks and achievable targets.
If your child is finding difficulty with study, then break down each challenge he is facing into small tasks. Tick each tasks off when completed. This will give him a sense of accomplishment that will boost his morale and self esteem. He will want to do more. As the saying goes, success breeds success.

3. Practice relaxation techniques.
People, both adult and children, who are anxious and panicky tends to unconsciously take quick and shallow breaths. There are many breathing and relaxation techniques that can promote calmness before performing in a high-stress situation like exams. Thinking becomes clearer and sharper when there is adequate supply of oxygen to the brain.

Here is a quick relaxation method that your child (and even you) can follow:
• Sit comfortably and place one hand on your stomach.
• Breathe in deeply through your nose to a count of four.
• Hold the breath for another four counts.
• Breathe out through your mouth to another count of four.
• Repeat

This can be repeated every time your child feels anxious. Once he is familiar with the technique he can use it on the day of the exam to keep himself calm.

4. Repeat positive self-affirmations.
During stressful period, a lot of self-doubt can set in making your child to question his ability to do well in the exam. Work out a few short positive statements that will boost his confidence. For example,
“Each day I am getting better and better with my studies.”
“The more I study the better I become.”
Have your child write it out five to ten time per affirmation on a piece of paper every day.

5. Avoid going straight to bed after revision.
Your child may have difficulty falling asleep with all the thoughts rushing around in his brain. Break the revision with some relaxing (but not obsessive) activity, like reading a storybook.

On the day of exam:

6. Avoid tense conversations.
Maybe your child is always leaving things lying around the house. And you often have to scold him for it. But the night before or the morning of the exam is not a time to have tense conversation and stress him up unnecessarily. Also, remind him not to get into an argument with his friends prior to the exam. This will help him maintain a relaxed state of mind.

7. Arrive early.
Send him to school extra early, so that he can relax and calm himself down before the school starts and exam fever starts. It would be disastrous if you are driving him to school on exam day and get yourself stuck in a traffic jam or your car breaks down.