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6 ways you can help your kids deal with test anxiety
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Does your child get nervous for tests in school? Your child may be suffering from test anxiety. Read 6 ways you can help your child cope. - photo by Anne Meyers
Exam sessions can be a very tough time for everybody. It doesnt matter what age you are or what school you go to.

University students get stressed just as much as kids from secondary schools, as test anxiety is a natural reaction of your body. But when does it become a problem?

When the stress and anxiety affect the studying performance as well as grades at school it means it is something more.

How can we help our children get through this hard time? And what kind of methods can we try to fight the stressful emotions?

Here are 6 tips on how to help your kids deal with test anxiety:

  1. Prepare in advance
The best way to reduce stress and anxiety to a minimum is to be well prepared for the exam.

Make sure your child starts studying a few days (or weeks) in advance to eliminate the risk of studying the night before. Help them organize the materials needed for the exam and create a schedule for studying. Talk about the studying process and help them review the class material.

  1. Educate your child
Help your child understand that stress and anxiety is something normal.

Sooner or later the tension is going to show up. Tell them that they should stop for a little while after a few hours of studying.

After they receive the exam papers, tell them to close their eyes, breathe deeply and relax their muscles.

Additionally, educate them about exam rules. These are some great tips:

  • Target the highest point questions. When they see that they are moving towards a big score with every answer, it will boost their confidence.
  • Do not go fast and to take as much time needed for answering the test questions.
  • Go to another question if they dont know the answers. Choose the questions they can easily answer first.
  1. Eliminate negative thinking
Everybody has heard about positive self -talk and what kind of influence it has on a persons actions.

So focus on things they do know. Remind your child how hard theyve worked, and theyre simply doing their best. Say it to your child to boost their confidence. Focus on the positive and not the negative.

  1. Use relaxation techniques
This is a great technique for students who are very nervous and stressed in general. There are a lot of different methods for relaxation that you can do with your child:

  • Go for a walk. It will refresh minds and give extra energy while calming down.
  • Take a series of 10 deep breaths while studying with eyes closed.
  • Practice yoga a few times per week; it will release physical and mental tension.
  • Stretch and tone the muscles by doing isometric exercises.
  1. Sleep
Good rest is essential for the body and mind performance on a daily basis.

When you help your child during test preparation, make sure they get adequate sleep. They will be more productive the next day. A good eight hours of night sleep is a must, especially on a night before an exam.

  1. Food
A balanced diet is very important while studying.

To reduce stress, give your child lots of fruits, vegetables, water or even green tea. Try to give them healthy food options with regular breaks between meals.

Forget about processed food, as it can increase anxiety and stress.

Dont forget to start their day with a nutritious breakfast, like cereals with fruit.

Mostly, the best thing you can give your child is support. If you know that your child is a stressed little human being, then just be with them. Help them organize their time with studying, review the material, be encouraging and dont forget that saying good words can help calm them down.

Your child will find it very helpful that there is someone supportive next to them; this will reduce their level of anxiety.

If the above points do not work, and the situation gets to a point where it is difficult to talk to your child, you can even arrange counseling services for your child.
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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