{"id":11518,"date":"2022-06-07T10:15:47","date_gmt":"2022-06-07T10:15:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/?p=11518"},"modified":"2022-06-07T10:15:48","modified_gmt":"2022-06-07T10:15:48","slug":"exam-season-parenting-your-top-questions-answered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/exam-season-parenting-your-top-questions-answered\/","title":{"rendered":"Exam season parenting: your top questions answered"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Emotions can run high for teens <em>and <\/em>parents during exam season. You want to support your child through this stressful time, but what\u2019s the best way? To help you work it out, we invited Dr Louise Egan\u2013a clinical psychologist who specialises in children\u2019s mental health\u2013 to answer your burning questions. In our recent Q&amp;A, she shares her helpful insights on exam season parenting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s look at some highlights\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. <strong><em>&#8220;My daughter\u2019s finding it hard to stay motivated and puts off revising. How can I help boost her motivation?&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes teens are put off because they think revising will be hard. But once they actually get going, they see that it\u2019s not as bad as they thought. Still, exams <em>are <\/em>a long slog. If they take small steps every day and study in short blocks of time with breaks in between, it can make revising a lot easier. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/mytutor-for-students\/mytutors-2022-exam-revision-toolkit\/\">The Pomodoro technique<\/a> is a great tool to help teens manage their study time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. <strong><em>\u201cMy son studies a lot but always gets disappointing results. Why aren\u2019t his grades reflecting the time he puts into studying?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/thehelperillustration.jpg\" alt=\"illustration-mum-helping-with-homework\" class=\"wp-image-9430 lazyload\" width=\"500\" height=\"450\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 500px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 500\/450;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/thehelperillustration.jpg\" alt=\"illustration-mum-helping-with-homework\" class=\"wp-image-9430\" width=\"500\" height=\"450\"\/><\/noscript><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>It might be the technique he\u2019s using to study. It\u2019s a good idea to mix up revision activities. So for example, he can use flashcards to help him memorise a topic, and mind maps to help him see the bigger picture and how things connect. Revising in different ways like this helps the material sink in better.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It could also be that his confidence is getting in the way. Maybe he thinks he\u2019s not good at school, and that negative tape plays on loop when he needs to focus. You can let him know what he\u2019s good at to help build up his confidence. It doesn\u2019t have to relate to school\u2013 it can be how well he looks after his younger brother, or how he\u2019s got a great sense of humour. The praise you give him is like feeding pennies into a piggy bank, so that when his confidence takes a knock, he\u2019s got pennies left in reserve. Lyrics in music can sometimes help boost confidence in teens, too. The singer Paloma Faith is really open about her own problems with confidence. People they look up to (like celebrities) can help teens build the courage to talk about tricky problems they\u2019re facing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. <strong><em>\u201cMy daughter can\u2019t do more than 2 hours of revision before she gets frustrated. Should I step back, even when I think she should be doing more?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/the-timekeeper.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9195 lazyload\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 500px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 500\/500;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/the-timekeeper.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9195\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\"\/><\/noscript><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Telling teens what to do usually makes them rebel and push against you. But you can still help your daughter by showing you\u2019re on her side. If she\u2019s getting&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>angry and frustrated with exams, you can model what it\u2019s like to be kind and gentle. So showing her that you know where she\u2019s coming from by saying, \u2018I know this is tough,\u2019 goes a long way. Encourage her to take breaks and self\u2013soothe. Have her fill a shoebox with things that make her feel good, like nice smelling candles and hand creams and fluffy socks. Then when she\u2019s feeling overwhelmed with exams, she can go back to that shoebox to help herself settle.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And shine a spotlight on the things she\u2019s doing well. Praise her when you see she\u2019s revising. It\u2019ll get you a lot further than pointing out what she\u2019s not doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. <strong><em>\u201cMy son is a reluctant reader.&nbsp; He tells me he\u2019s already reading in English class, but I don\u2019t think that\u2019s enough. How can I get him to spend more time reading?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Find out what your son is interested in and get him reading material around that. If he\u2019s interested in gaming, you can get him gaming manuals. Or if your teen\u2019s mad about sports, you can give him magazines or sports biographies. Graphic novels and anime are popular with teens, too.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes they might just be put off by carrying a book, and would happily read on their phone instead. Or even audiobooks might work better for them\u2013and it can still help build up their vocabulary and love of stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. <strong><em>\u201cDo you have any tips on what to do if they get a disappointing grade on results day?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It helps to remind them about their skills, gifts and talents in all parts of their lives. Start feeding those positive messages about what they do well <em>now <\/em>so that come exam results day, they\u2019ve got a soft landing. Invite them to share their side with you. Why are they disappointed? Where are their expectations coming from? Have they heard it from someone else, that grades and achieving mean everything?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And remember to PACE yourself:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>P- Be playful, and try to lighten the mood where you can with humour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A- Accept their disappointment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>C- Be curious with \u2018I wonder\u2019 statements. \u2018I wonder what we could take away from this?\u2019&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>E- Empathise. Tell them you get what they\u2019re going through. \u2018It\u2019s tough sitting exams and then getting a grade you don\u2019t want.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Parenting during exams can feel like a rollercoaster with all its ups and downs. But you\u2019re not alone in your worries. What was very clear in our Q&amp;A with Louise is how much our parent community cares about their teens\u2013and that is the best starting point.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>To watch Louise\u2019s full talk, have a look <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vS0LESqAo1s\"><em>here<\/em><\/a><em>.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Emotions can run high for teens and parents during exam season. You want to support your child through this stressful time, but what\u2019s the best way? To help you work it out, we invited Dr Louise Egan\u2013a clinical psychologist who&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[295,788],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Exam season parenting: your top questions answered | MyTutor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dive into the top highlights from our Q&amp;A with Dr Louise Egan to find out how to best help your teen through exam season.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mytutor.co.uk\/blog\/parents\/exam-season-parenting-your-top-questions-answered\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" 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