As parents, we all want to support our children as best we can during exam time. Having worked as a school counsellor for the last ten years and supported many students through exams, these are my top 5 tips for parents during exam time:
1. Know your son’s/daughter’s entire exam schedule - put it up in clear view in your house so that everyone can see it and tick off each exam as they complete it.
2. Ensure they are present for each paper - if you are not able to take them to the exam yourself, make sure they know how they are getting there, that they are at school in plenty of time and there is a back-up plan in place, just in case.
3. Make a checklist of requirements for each exam - pens, calculator, math’s instruments etc., so they turn up prepared for the exam.
4. Each day, listen to the story of their day… and then encourage them to move on. This helps them to focus on each exam in turn but does not encourage them to over analyse an exam which is already done and for which the outcome cannot be changed.
5. Help them to focus on the next day’s papers by talking about what they are working on next.
And lastly, the best way to support your child during the stress of revision and exams is to make home life as calm and pleasant as possible so that they can focus on their work and achieve to the best of their ability.
Joanne Jewell is a School Counsellor at Dubai British School, a Taaleem School. Visit www.dubaibritishschool.ae.