It is very common for students preparing for JEE/NEET to feel under pressure. Their parents' behaviour at home can further affect their mood and performance. We discuss some common problems and how children and parents can deal with them:
1.Low marks in mock tests
It’s important to understand that mock tests are for practice. When students get low marks in major tests or mock tests, everyone gets upset at home. Getting low marks should not give a feeling of sadness but should be seen as an opportunity to identify the reasons for scoring less marks and how to improve them. Parents should focus on how to help a child with this situation and help them address concept issues or silly mistakes with support from teachers.
2.Comparison with other students
It’s very common for parents to give examples of other children who are doing better to their own child. This tends to give a lot of stress to them and makes them irritable. Again it’s very important to understand the reasons behind the better performance of achiever students and try to work on the weaknesses with the child. Many times more effort, better environment and planning can help in driving better results.
3.High expectation from parents
Once parents put their child through JEE/NEET preparations, they think that their children will get good results or they will succeed in securing seats in IITs or government medical colleges. A child can feel these expectations and feel under pressure to perform well. Not doing well in the exams or as per expectations should never be taken as a prestige issue and a child shouldn’t be under such pressure from parents.
4.Expecting changes in daily habits
Many students have daily habits of playing, pursuing their hobbies or visiting friends' parties etc. Such habits or irregular eating or sleeping habits irritate parents and this creates a not-so-happy environment in the house. Though certain things interfere with exam preparation, parents should understand that it’s difficult for a child to change drastically for these two years. A healthy discussion and gradual changes can help in changing habits and behaviour.
So creating a balanced environment at home where a child feels secure and can discuss their challenges during preparation is very important. Together they can address the difficulties faced. Otherwise if children feel irritated or unhappy, they will reduce or stop communicating with parents and this should never happen!
About Mentor and Mom:
Mentor and Mom is an initiative by Dr. Monika Mittal and her two IITian sons, Ameya Mittal and Sarthak Mittal. With our enriched experience and practice over the years, we provide mentoring and effective study tips to help you prepare for JEE, NEET, and other exams. Our aim is to build a happy, healthy, and motivated student community!
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Excellent. Keep it up.