Exam time can be stressful for the whole family, especially the child who faces hours upon hours of studying. Aside from offering moral support and lending a sympathetic ear, here’s the top 10 tips from The Parenting Place for helping your child prepare for exams.
1. Make sure your child keeps exams in perspective. It’s important that they try their best, but remember that exam results are not the be all and end all. Remind them that exams measure only how well they can do an exam, not their worth as a person.
2. Starting is the hardest part, especially for procrastinators. Some kids procrastinate because they do not know where to begin, so help them by setting small tasks like brainstorms, lists of ideas or a study timetable.
3. Suggest that your child has scheduled breaks to stay refreshed. A good technique is to set a timer, for 15 minute intervals.
4. During exam time, it can be hard to make enough time to study around other commitments. If possible, give your child a break from some of their chores.
5. A quiet study space is essential when studying. Let other family members know that they need to be considerate and keep their noise levels down.
6. Set boundaries on what your child is allowed to do during exam time, and remind them that study break is not a holiday. Social activities such as parties should not be allowed unless compulsory and technology use such as Facebook should be kept to a minimum.
7. Help your child study by interacting with them. Ask them to explain what they are learning to you, and quiz them using flash cards.
8. Utilise the internet (as long as it’s for studying!) YouTube has hundreds of videos for exam preparation, and is a great place to learn study tips and tricks.
9. Help your child figure out the best study technique for them. Go through previous exam papers with them, figure out what parts they need to work on and help them allocate their time wisely to each section.
10. Double (and even triple) check the day, time and place of their exams! You can’t do well at an exam if you accidentally miss it.
