Noticing your child being under pressure due to an upcoming test is one of those helpless moments you will feel as a parent. But tests are part of school life, and it is not an obstacle you can easily remove from your child’s life because they do not like them.
As the exams get closer, the pressure increases, making you think of ways you can help make it better. You can not study on your child’s behalf, but you can help ensure they are well prepared for the tests giving them more confidence to face the coming exams.
This article discusses factors that affect a child’s revision sessions and how you can help ensure the revision period and exams go smoothly as a parent.
Factors that Affect a Child’s Revision Session
It is normal to want to revise before exams, but the revision sessions can be affected by some external factors, which are discussed below.
- Nutrition: Some food is said to help better assimilation, and others make the child too tired to comprehend the lesson. Poor nutrition or malnutrition can affect a child’s revision session.
- Environment: A child must be in the right environment to assimilate properly.
- Health: A child’s physical, mental, or emotional health will affect their preparation
Revision Tips for Children
Here are essential tips to help your children revise and study effectively.
- Create a Suitable Study Space
The environment your child studies in is important, even to the least details. There are so many distractions that can affect your child’s interest in schoolwork. Distractions do not only come from activities around, but it also comes from the children’s feeling.
If the child is not comfortable, it can be a huge form of distraction, making all time spent studying futile. So, you should create a suitable study space for your child to ensure they can revise without worrying about external factors. Here are some ways to create a suitable work table.
- Get a work table or desk for them; it makes them get into study mode and maintain a good posture while studying.
- Choose a space with minimal distractions.
- Decorate the space accordingly, and choose colors proven to help alertness, focus, and creativity.
- Create a Revision Timetable
Left to the children, they will keep procrastinating their daily preparations until they can no longer delay. If they do not prioritize their study and set time aside, they might study too late or for too few hours. Also, if you are studying with your child, you might get too busy and keep forgetting to study together.
So, create a plan for you to study together and abide by it. Tips to help you set a revision timetable are below.
- Write down the timetable or put it on a digital spreadsheet
- Set the alarm for each revision session
- Prepare ahead for the revision session.
- Start Revision Early
One reason why children feel overwhelmed, and panic is because their test day is getting closer. Due to the fear or lethargy towards studying, the child ends up moving forward the study time until the test days are close.
Late revisions affect the child’s mental state, causing them to assimilate more slowly. It is better to start revising way ahead of the exams, giving them enough time to deal with any issues that come up without being under the pressure of “not enough time.” Here are steps to help you start revision earlier.
- Know your child’s school and exam timetable; this gives you enough time to plan.
- Start the preparation way ahead of the exam period.
- Provide right nutrition
A well-nourished child will find more motivation and strength to study than a poorly-nourished one. It is essential that your child studies with plenty of healthy snacks as this helps ensure they are less bored and more motivated to study.
Also, healthy snacks play a big role in their assimilation. Foods with high omega-3 concentration help them concentrate better and improve their cognitive function. Antioxidant food also helps concentration. And some fruits help increase the brain’s dopamine level, improving concentration.
- Work with the right method.
All children are different and have different styles of learning and doing things. You must understand your child’s interests before venturing into revising with them. Know what motivates them and use it to help them study better.
Check out the different learning styles and try out everything until you figure out which suits your child best and allows them to assimilate better. Here are other tips to help you with this method.
- Use incentives to motivate them. However, ensure the incentives do not serve as bribes else the child studies just to please you. Instead, use their interest and long-term results to encourage them to study well.
- Explore different methods of learning until you find a few your children like and work with.
- Encourage them
Dealing with a frustrated child might keep you on the edge because you are worried and under pressure, but you must keep your emotions in check and be an adult. Do not get angry or frustrated even when they do not act accordingly. These are some dos and don’ts of revising with your child.
Don’ts
- Do not say negative things to your child; they will get discouraged and under pressure.
- Do not shout or get angry with them.
- Do not give off negative energy with your body language
- Do not compare them with siblings or friends
Do(s)
- Encourage them by saying positive words
- Take some minutes off to let off steam, so you do not raise your voice.
- Explain calmly
- Help them out whenever they seek your help.
- If you can not help, look for other ways to help them achieve their goals.
Conclusion
There are different methods and techniques to help you revise with your child. Try out the ones listed above but do not limit yourself to these. Explore different ways to help your child study better, feed them well, and encourage them with words and incentives. Be there for them even if you can not help so they do not feel alone or discouraged. They will value the time more than the results they get.
