Let them learn without pressure

It is quite human that all parents want the best for their children.

However, sometimes, in their quest to see their children achieve the best, parents can be a little too hard on them. In order to avoid stress during exams parents need to do the following:

Avoid comparing your child’s performance with his/her siblings or peers. Each child has his or her own capabilities, limits and strengths. So avoid comparison. This may just demoralise your child and impede his/her overall development.

Time and again praise your child. Such supportive and encouraging gestures help your child perform well which is sure to bring about an overall development of the child.

Give your child some time to relax during exams. Talk to him. Try spending quality time with him, may be over lunch at a restaurant, take him for a walk in the park, etc.

As much as possible plan a healthy diet for your child. Some foods are more calming than others. Milk and bananas for example contain naturally occurring morphine like substances which help to calm you down. Other healthy ‘comfort foods’ include mashed potato, bread and baked beans. Lettuce and other raw vegetables also work wonders.

To help children maintain a high self esteem, it becomes important for parents to relay a highly supportive gesture towards their children. Parents, should as much as possible act normal and take heed of what their child is doing while refraining from pressurising him to do more.

Lectures should be short or minimal and given only if necessary. Nagging may pressurise the child and lower his self esteem.

Parents should control their anxiety levels as this may increase their child’s anxieties too! Instead, try making the child realise that you are confident about what he does. Moreover, encourage his efforts from time to time.

It is about time that parents understood that academic results alone do not ensure a higher income, and too much emphasis on studies can hinder the child’s growth, social development and confidence to a great extent. All work and no play can truly make your child go dull. Treat children as they are and not as adults.