A PARENT’S VIEW
SO here we are knee deep in exams. What can you, as a parent do? Are you just a helpless bystander or can you get involved?
Well, you can start by sympathising – a lot! This is a point in your in parenting life when you may like to try being unreservedly sympathetic.
Some parents may want to tell their children that exams were harder in their day or that they were sent down a mine shortly after birth.
Even if these things were true, this is possibly not the best time to talk about it.
Exams are hard and can be gruelling. It may help to acknowledge this. Accept that this is not a great time for teens but remind them that it will not last forever and that a long summer break will soon be here - just do not mention that results day is right in the middle of it.
A big mistake is to get overinvolved. If you have some knowledge about the subjects that your child is studying it is tempting to become overinvolved in the revision process but this is not always helpful in the long term.
The objective of this process is for your child to become an independent learner so it may be useful to keep this in mind as you hog the text books. Personally, I can be a complete pain in the neck when my kids are revising a subject that interests me and I’m sure that this is a constant source of irritation to them but they humour me.
Finally, you have to learn to take nothing for granted. Do not assume that they will have everything available for the learning process. Revision skills are taught in most schools these days but your teen may not have taken them on board.
So, you may want to encourage them to discover what works for them and this is a matter of trial and error. I personally need to write everything down in note form when I am learning and I also find it helpful to talk out loud as if I am explaining it to someone else.
Some students find a whiteboard and pens useful whilst others need a huge notebook. If you support them in their chosen revision method then at least it shows that you respect the process and the fact that they are mature enough to handle their own revision.
If they can revise according to their own style it will be more productive and perhaps even enjoyable for them. They will NEVER admit this.
Dr Sharon Parry is a mother of three and a former public health research fellow. She shares useful tips and her experiences of having three daughters in primary school, high school and university in wales on her website www. aftertheplayground.com