Dealing with Examination Stress

Examinations lead to undue stress in your child. Did you know that high level of stress can lead to secretion of the stress hormone cortisol which weakens your immune system. However experts are of the opinion that some amount of stress is important for a student taking exam. This is called eustress or good stress which helps the student to perform better. It is said that if your child is overconfident and is too cool about his exams, then he will not be able to perform well.

To enable the child to perform well at his exam, it is important that we start ahead. Make sure that he eats good food, exercises, rest and enough sleep. By serving him the right food he will not only be energetic, but it will sharpen his memory too. Serve him lots of fruits and vegetables in variety of colours like red, yellow, green and orange. Strawberry, tomatoes and carrots are all great immunity boosters. Other rich memory boosting foods are nuts, flax seeds, fish, grapes, cherries, apples, spinach, broccoli and beetroot. Vitamin B complex is good for memory too. So reach out for oats, bananas and avocados. Make sure that your child drinks enough water. Dehydration can lead to short term memory loss.

Give your child enough rest. Sleep sharpens the brain and helps the child in concentrating. Eight to nine hours of night sleep is fine, but then some kids need ten to twelve hours of sleep a day. Give your child enough free time. Let him go for any activity that he enjoys. Remember physical activity refreshes the mind and makes you feel energetic. Inactivity on the other hand leads to stress and lethargy. Some kind of sports like swimming, skating, tennis or may be dance will make him feel happy and improve his concentration too.

If you are child is suffering from examination fear then identify the fear factor. Generally fear for examination comes from inadequate preparations, poor time management and frequent comparisons with others. Let him not discuss about exams with his friends much because friends sometimes misguides and makes the child all the more nervous. Make it a ritual and keep aside some time for having a light conversation with your child.

Fear sometimes comes because of disorganized ways of studying. Guide your child properly and give timing for different subjects, so that none of the subjects gets neglected. To improve confidence kids should practice writing as much as possible. This will enable them to know how much preparation they require. Lastly know your child’s limitations and don’t unnecessarily bog him down with your expectations.