The increased competition, growth in the syllabus, and pressure to perform well have created a shadow of anxiety on children. This is identified with suicides, depression, and alienation amongst youth in current times. For children and young people, as well as their parents or caregivers, tests and exams can be a difficult part of school life. However, there are strategies to reduce stress because it can be psychologically exhausting. Children need to acquire appropriate coping mechanisms for anxiety in order to have strong minds.
According to a recent nationwide mental health survey, 81 per cent of school students surveyed perceive тАЬstudies, examinations, and resultsтАЭ to be a major source of anxiety. These problems get worse as students move up to more difficult subjects. The pressure to excel in life can be incredibly stressful. (Also read: School reopening: How to ease children’s anxiety and help them re-adjust )
In a conversation with HT Lifestyle, Pranay Aggarwal, President Indian Social Science Council, and Governor of the Indian Civil Services Association shared measures that can be taken to reduce post-exam anxiety among children.
1. Communication with parents:
The children must communicate their issues with their parents. It is generally parental pressure that makes the child fearful about scoring lower grades or performing lesser than expected. By freely establishing a good conversation in this context, parents can help relieve the stress taken by the children.
2. Role of the teachers:
Teachers need to make children comfortable with the process of examination. Extreme hype around the exam or scoring good marks creates unnecessary pressure and associated anxiety. The teachers need to make learning a joyful activity and therefore the tests would be taken as a measure of assessment of oneтАЩs learning and not anything greater than that.
3. Encouraging positive self-talk:
By making students affirmative in their attitude, one can make them adaptive in case negative emotions take over. They should practice positive self-talk like тАШтАЩ I have done my bestтАЩтАЩ, тАШтАЩ I am a good studentтАЩтАЩ etc.
4. Teach strategies for relaxation:
In the state of calmness, ask children to visualize as they have an active sense of imagination. You can ask the children to close their eyes and identify a situation in which they feel happy, confident, and relaxed. Nudge them to share details about the sights, sounds, and scents in their calm space. Ask them to take deep breaths alongside. This makes them better to handle situations of anxiety as the mind feels relaxed rather than engulfed by numerous thoughts associated with the exam.
5. Encourage hobby building and general awareness:
By nurturing meaningful hobbies which enhance overall mental and physical growth, the children can be made strong to adapt to anxious moments. Learning to play a sport, and learning a musical instrument can certainly make them better at dealing with themselves and the pressures associated with examinations.
6. Provide encouragement at all times:
Children are not accustomed to everything around them. They tend to view the world through their parents, their teachers, and their peers. They find that scoring fewer marks is undesirable and creates negative emotions. This makes them associate grades with their self-esteem. To prevent such scenarios, the children should be provided with encouragement in all ways and not just necessarily in the context of performance in the exams.
