How to exam-proof your teen’s bedroom
TEENAGERS’ bedrooms have long been synonymous with smelly socks, unmade beds and piles of dirty cups.
Any parent who deigns to point out that this may be playing havoc with their concentration is likely to be accused of interfering, controlling or, simply stressing over something that doesn’t matter.
Sound familiar? Don’t worry, because you have the experts on your side.
“They don’t see the mess, but this chaos can impact on their studies,” professional declutterer and author of Start With Your Sock Drawer: The Simple Guide to Living a Less Cluttered Life, Vicky Silverthorn says.
Time and time again, studies prove a link between our environment and how well we work, so it’s no surprise Silverthorn sees bookings soar around exam time.
“For the last few years, I’ve increasingly been employed by parents to spend a day in their teenager’s bedroom to make it more study-friendly,” she says. “You know that feeling when your house is a tip, or your desk is overflowing with paperwork?
“Well, teenagers feel similarly overwhelmed, but they’re unable to verbalise it and this can impact on learning.”
A professor of health and psychology at the University of Manchester, Cary Cooper, a stress expert, says a messy bedroom around exam time is often a reflection of teenage stress.
“I have four grown-up children and we’ve gone through the exam process with all of them,” he said.
“One was very tidy and structured, two were incredibly messy and one was in between. Rather than getting cross about the mess, which was a symptom of their inability to manage stress and structure their study, we helped them sort their rooms out and – without them realising – counselled them through exam stress at the same time.” — The Daily Telegraph