Exam times are very stressful for any child, whether they be in primary school or in higher education and if as a parent you want your children to succeed and do the best that they can do in life (which I’m sure you do) then you might wonder what you can do to help.
Well the good news is that although it is up to your children to put in the hard work, there is still plenty you can do as a parent to help and encourage your kids through their exams. Here are a few tips to help you help them…
Bribe Them To Do Well
Some students are more attentive than others and some will automatically care about doing well and will want to put in the effort. Unfortunately many kids don’t see the future as being all that important (and why would they?), so some parents consider offering their kids a financial reward for doing well. This might seem shallow, but it might just be the encouragement they need. Afterall, it brings the reward closer to them and makes it seem worth the effort.
Incentivise Them To Work Hard
Exam time can feel like hard work and that’s no fun; so give your children a reason to enjoy exam time. One popular strategy is to let them off their chores for a week before exams – but ONLY if they use that time to revise instead. Make it clear that if they are not revising they will have to do their chores instead.
Cut Them Some Slack
Too much pressure isn’t a good thing and kids do need to let off steam and relax, so make sure you encourage your kids to take rests and give them time to play with their friends. This way they will be more productive when they do revise.
Help Them To Create A Revision Timetable
With the above in mind work with your children to create a timetable for their revision. Include slots for rest periods and also allow free time. If exams are not too close then they shouldn’t need to revise every evening, but make sure they have a final revision slot any evening prior to an exam.
Help Them To Focus Their Efforts
Of course all exams matter, but some matter more than others and it is not necessarily productive to spend equal amounts of time on every subject. If your child has a natural affinity to a subject and you think they might one day want to take it further then encourage them to focus more on that. Math, English and Science are of course universally important and getting at least a C in each is well worth trying to do, so if your kids struggle with these subjects then encourage them and help them as much as possible.
Create Crib Sheets For Each Exam
The hardest part of exam revision is often; knowing where to start, but that’s something you can help with even if you don’t know a lot about the subject. Go through past papers with your child and help him/her to pick out topics for each question. After a couple you will soon see the key topics that need revising and these can be used as headings on a large revision sheet. If your child then writes notes under each heading they will soon have the makings of a revision plan.
Get Them Out Of The House
Concentrating for long periods of time is hard work for adults, so for your kids to do it is even harder. You should obviously allow them rest periods, but try getting them out of the house regularly. It is well established that exercise increases your ability to concentrate and for your kids that is as simple as sending them out to play – rather than sitting on their bed playing computer games.
Another great way to help your children get more out of their education is to investing in private tutoring, or to tutor them from home. Click here for more information about tutoring and helping your children with school.