Avoid putting too much pressure on children, parents advised

Muscat: Clinical psychologists in Oman have said that parents and teachers should not put too much pressure on children to excel in their exams, as it could lead to a reverse effect of them actually doing poorer than expected.
Anuya Phule, a clinical psychotherapist at Hatat Polyclinic, said children needed time to do other activities as well, instead of only concentrating on their exams.
“Even if you get what some consider low marks in an exam, it is okay,” she said. “Unfortunately, we are geared in such a way that we think getting a good score in an exam means everything. Just because a child does not do as well as others, does not mean he or she is a failure. There is so much more to look forward to in life.
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“I think it is about time that the schools look at some form of counselling to assess and tackle the issue of exam stress, and this needs to be done by trained psychologists,” added Phule. “There are, of course, some questions that might be very sensitive to some, but it is definitely possible to ask general questions that assess the overall mood of the child.”
Phule also listed the symptoms of exam stress, which included a lack of willingness to interact with others and choosing to only stay in their room, situations where a child does not want to go out with the family, and says he has a lot of studying to do, or occasions when a child is either more quiet or more irritable.
“Such actions are only taken because a child thinks it’ll help them give more attention to their studies, but in reality, it only means they are focusing on quantitative study, not qualitative study, and there is no extra study actually being done,” she explained. “Parents should not obsess about their child’s study. Don’t talk about studies all the time. For example, when you’re having dinner, don’t talk about studies. Discuss something else. Too much obsession over studies is never good for the mind, because it can only take a certain amount of any subject matter.”
Adding to this, Dr Nuhaila Al Rawahi, an educational psychologist in Oman, said schools and families needed to support children in dealing with anxieties they face.
“Mental health and emotional well-being are paramount to success for every child at school,” she said. “Exam stress is usually about anxiety around performance where students ultimately worry about their scores. The stress is usually due to their inability to manage their anxiety.
“The anxiety can be induced internally or externally. For example, the student asserts an identity value against their score. If he or she doesn’t get a high score, their perception of their worth is lowered,” added Al Rawahi. “External factors also play a role, this usually is in the form of pressure from parents.”
She added that some educational systems did provide arrangements during exams for students who were anxious, so that they would be able to better attempt them.
“I am also involved in assessing students for exam concessions for the IGCSE exams,” she explained. “Depending on their learning needs I am able to request for extra time, a scribe or a reader. In the case of students with high anxiety I am able to request for them to sit in a room separate from their peers in order to reduce their anxiety levels during exams. For individual cases, a counselling psychologist is often referred to. My advice is to involve a professional earlier instead of later.”