Unfortunately it's that time of the year again. Parents along with their children, hang their heads in utter misery at the impending task that is ahead of them. Final exams. Yes of course if you are one of those lucky parents, whose children are always prepared, who never shirks away from being told to study, then this doesn't really apply to you and the rest of the other parents do feel uncomfortable in your presence. But humour aside, in my household my children hate to study and I hate asking them to. If I had any control over the educational system I would abolish any sort of assessment scheme where the said child is taxed with copious amounts of of book learning and revising. Let children be children and enjoy their formative years.

For the truth of the matter is, as adults have we ever felt the need to intricately know the parts of a flowering plant in our every day life or suddenly sprout the tan of a number, recite a French verb in tense.. well you must get the gist of my argument. But children have to be schooled and this means that, like a right of passage one must go through final exams. When asked to study for the umpteenth time, one of my older children remarked “ Mum you are ruining our lives”. After extending the revision time to another hour, for that cheeky comment I did actually feel I was ruining their lives and mine as well. But that doesn't always have to be, here are some ways to SURVIVE your child's exams.

1. Instill healthy habits: Cramming at the last minute, doesn't only produce poor results it also causes a slot of stress and anxiety amongst the parent and child. So start early, start small, a little bit learnt everyday alleviates the sudden stress involved in studying at the last minute. Also if you start the revising process early, you can encourage the restless child to spend a short time learning a little, each day, which would be productive in the long run, for they will actually learn something rather than cram facts in the short term to pass an exam.

2. Stay calm: Children are quite astute in absorbing your nervousness for them. This in turn will affect them emotionally. It is after all just a mere exam and yes to be taken serious, but not to the point where the child is emotional traumatized. If you adopt a positive attitude, so will your child and be in a better frame of mind to approach the exam.

3. Eat healthy: During exam time children might eat unnecessary sugary snacks, as they revise. Maintaining a healthy eating diet should be a normal lifestyle that one follows, but unnecessary snacking should be avoided to prevent moods swings from unhealthy eating. This is not conducive to a productive study session.

4. Take away or turn off distractions: In my household, the younger two are quite distracting to the older two. Getting some peace and quiet to study can get very difficult. Therefore be a good role model and turn of T.V's, radios, avoid having friends over, for that short period give you child the opportunity to study!

This is indeed a vexing time for all, but one can't run away from exams however much you wish it was possible. Don't let this period bring out the worst in you as a parent, for it is easily doable, as one of my children said. Go easy on the nagging, the constant reminding, the broken record of what if you fail, rather than run towards their books this is the best way to get children to run away from them. It is difficult, but you can survive this parents. Happy studying!

By Mayuri Jayasinghe