(Reading time: 5 minutes)
It’s time for the Class of 2022 to shine! This can be a stressful year for students and parents, if not pro-actively learning to plan and navigate the challenges of the year. As parents, how can we ensure that our children are coping at worst, thriving at best, and getting through as fluidly and easily as possible.
As a performance and wellness coach, my experiences, research, and studies have led me to practices that can aid with this objective. As with all things, I encourage you to absorb what is useful, discard what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.
1. Check-in often and re-assure regularly
The Matric year, whether you recall or not, can be an emotional and mental rollercoaster at the best of times. Find ways to check in with your child without seeming overbearing. Ensure they have a go-to person who they can confide in at times when they might feel overwhelmed.
It is also incredibly important to assure your child that all they need to do is give their best, and that no matter the outcome, everything will be fine and that they will be loved. Nobody is ever defined by one single exam or set of exams, and this just one steppingstone in the journey of life.
2. Ensure they have a study plan and hold them accountable to it
Does your child already have a well defined and robust process implemented, as well as goals for the year? Ensure that they do! The goals might not be critical, however, the processes are. If they, and you, are not sure how to draw one up, consult people who have done it before.
3. Adopt a team mentality and know the key dates
Adopt a team mentality and seek to help your child where you see them struggling. Don’t expect your children to know or remember every milestone and be willing to walk along the journey hand-in-hand, whilst allowing them to take pole position.
Below is a list of the key dates:
4. Obtain insights from their teachers, coaches, and tutors
By now, your child’s teachers, coaches and tutors will have gained key insights into their strengths, weaknesses, and challenge areas. Reach out to them to collaborate on ways to ensure that the student has their bases covered. Address the weaknesses and areas that need attention by finding resources, and getting additional assistance in the form of coaching, tutoring and mentoring.
5. Ensure the 3 R’s are maintained (Refuel, Rest, Rejuvenate)
These 3 pillars will form the foundations, not only for this year, but into their working lives. They are the cornerstones to sustained performance.
Refuel:
Don’t expect your child to perform optimally—mentally or emotionally—if their diet is off point. Resist the urge to buy them sweets, chocolates and, worst of all, anything with caffeine. Studies show that all these potentially increase focus and energy for short bursts of time, followed by a crash. Choose instead fruits and nuts, especially almonds. Encourage them to drink water rather than energy drinks and coffee.
Rest:
The mind works best when it is well rested. Get your child into the habit of going to bed early, say no later than 10pm, and rise early, no later than 6am to kick off the day. There is a caveat here, depending on chronotype: some children will function better by following a different schedule to the standard 10pm-6am cycle. Sleep can be a rather complicated topic, but as long as your child feels rested every morning, that's what matters. If not, it's time for a change. You can read more about chronotypes here: https://thesleepdoctor.com/2021/06/08/chronotype-guide/
You should also get them in the habit of taking mini breaks in between their study sessions and get them moving during this time. Movement is medicine, especially when seated and having to focus for extended periods
Rejuvenation:
Remember that your child will need periods of recovery time, especially when the mind begins to fatigue. Monitor them, where possible and if you see them beginning to saturate, intervene and get them to take a walk or do something enjoyable. All in balance.
Ensure that your child is doing some form of exercise daily, be it running, gym, ballet, yoga, dance or whatever. The body loves to move, and it is a sure way to also rejuvenate the mind as well.
Get them to meditate, there are various apps online that offer free guided meditations specifically for students. I suggest Insight Timer as it has many free meditations, however the number of apps are many.
Below are some helpful links:
6. Remove distractions
As a parent the responsibility falls on you to ensure that as many distractions as possible are removed. The major one is digital devices. This can be a powerful tool or a very damaging distraction, as a student might be tempted to look at social media on their phone, which can eat into their study time.
If needs be, ask that they give you their mobile device during their scheduled study time and allow them to go online during breaks. A fantastic tool to monitor screen time usage is Stay Free Screen Time Tracker for Android and Offscreen for Apple apps.
7. Past year exam practice under exam conditions!
The key issue for many students is, even though they may fully understand the subject material, they don’t practice under exam conditions. This is one of the major contributors to poor performance. It leads to stress and anxiety for many in the exams due to a lack of exposure to that situation.
Here are links to exam portals:
Make sure they are working with a timer and in a quiet environment. If the practice test doesn't go perfectly, that's all right! They are getting more practice and experience, and that will make a huge difference in the end.
Comments