Help a child to cope anxiety towards examination (Part 1)

Most of the children can cope well with examination. However, some children find it more challenging to cope with examination. Some children may exhibit anxious behaviour, like cannot fall asleep at night, lack of concentration during day time, like to cry nearby the examination period etc. If parents identify some signs that children are worry about the examination, you may try the following ways to help them:

1) Find out the source of worry

Parents may find out the source of anxiety by talking to their children. Does the child, parents or teachers have a high expectation on the child? Does the child have a high expectation on himself or herself? How does a child feel about the examination? What is the child‘s belief of the examination? Is the child fear of failure? Is the child doing his or her best to prepare for the examination?

2) Share the feelings

I believe a little bit of stress is helpful to motivate the child to excel. However, if the child feels overwhelmed, he or she needs to get support from parents or teacher. I suggest the teachers or parents give listening ears to their concern and worry. The child is in need of someone to support and understanding their feelings (e.g. fear, worry, anxiety). Let the child talks about his or her feelings. They can cope better by sharing about it with the empathic support from parents and teachers.

3) Distraction Techniques

When the child is very anxious, he or she can take a break and do something they like most (e.g. reading story book, listening to music, playing with toys, medication, practising some sport activities, going our for a walk etc) for a while to distract them from the anxiety. It is helpful to help your child to identify his or her coping way when he or she faces stress due to examination.

4) Breathing Exercise

Parents may teach the children some relaxation exercise (e.g. breathing exercise) to cope with the anxiety towards examination. They may teach their children to breathe in and out for relaxation when they faced anxiety. It is just like blowing a balloon. This is an effective exercise for them to cope with anxiety.

In conclusion, parents need to help children find out the source of anxiety and let them share their feelings. Parents can equip them with coping skills e.g. distraction techniques and breathing exercise. Some children need to refer to counsellor for counselling in order to help them cope better with examination. If there is a need, parents need to discuss with teacher about the referral.