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Reducing Test Anxiety: A guide for parents with children in elementary and middle school

12/13/2017

-A pitfall for some parents is to dismiss their child's education to the responsibility of the public or private school teacher. In reality, your attitude and involvement towards your child's academics has a major impact on their overall development and grades. Studies show 90% of all children experience some form of anxiety or depression. By building a strong emotional foundation at home, your son or daughter will be more focused and less anxious on preparing for and taking tests. Consider for a moment your own experience as a child--did one or both of your parents take a personal interest in your education? What was their attitude toward your getting an A or D--were you rewarded or reprimanded? If your child knows they have your full support, no matter the result, their level of stress will be manageable. This guide will identify some effective ways to help your student build confidence, stay focused, and reduce anxiety.

The Five Things You Should Know about Reducing Anxiety

Build Good Study Habits Early On. Don’t wait for a bad test grade to take action. By getting involved in creating good study habits as early as kindergarten, it demonstrates how much you care about your child's learning. Good study habits also foster a lasting effect on their communication and social development skills. Follow these steps:

Step 1. Start with free time after school. Keep in mind, your child needs a chance to unwind from a long day just like you do so give them a chance to play prior to study time.
Step 2. Create a quite area without distraction. Have papers, pencils, rulers, erasers, pencil sharpeners and other essential school supplies ready for them in an area in your home. If your home has lots of distractions, consider study time at a library or a learning center to go on a regular basis.
Step 3. Build a specific start time and schedule. Though the homework load may change from day to day, have a specific start time and schedule so your student will stay disciplined.
Step 4. Sit with your child and begin by asking general "open ended" questions. Ask questions such as "Tell me about what you learned in school today?" or "What was the best part of your day?" Continue the dialogue with follow-up questions such as, "can you describe what happened?" or "how did you work it out?" Be sure to also ask non-academic questions so you can understand how they are interacting with the teacher and other students in class. Next, review your children’s homework and their school work. Take notice on the quality of their notes.

Communicate with your children’s teachers. Don’t wait until parent-teacher conference time to get to know the teachers. During the early part of the school year, introduce yourself to the teachers and open up a dialog about your children’s school matters. Teachers will pay more attention to your children’s needs and will be more open to communicating with you if there is a problem or concern.

Know the school calendar and important dates. Most elementary and middle schools post online schedules and include important test dates and due dates for assignments and projects. One of the major causes of anxiety is not feeling prepared so help your child well in advance of the due date.

Build positive thinking by being a motivator for your child. Ask your son or daughter to express how they are feeling about the test and pay close attention to the language. Give them appropriate praises and help them change a negative thought to a positive. Write down their concerns in a column on a piece of paper then ask them to help you write a positive response that argues against their concerns. Here are some examples:

Your Child's Negative Response:

I always do poorly in math.
I'm going to flunk this test.
Everyone else is smarter than me.
There is too much to learn for the test

Provide a Positive Response:

You solved all the difficult math problems yourself.
You have prepared but if you fail, you will bounce back.
By studying and preparing, you will learn.
You don't need to know everything, just do your best.

Seek educational or professional help. In most situations, medical help is not necessary to reduce anxiety . Instead a trained educator can help students overcome emotional and academic challenges. If you are feeling overwhelmed or you don't have the ability to teach, we can help.
At iLearn Academy, we teach students effective study and organizational skills, master subject material through practice, improve time management, and build confidence by discovering creative solutions to academic problems. Learn more about reducing anxiety at:
https://www.today.com/health/america-s-youngest-generation-facing-mental-health-crisis-t119914

https://www.campbellcollaboration.org/library/mindfulness-based-interventions-primary-and-secondary-school-students.html

https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/4214916/Mendes_ReappraisingArousal.pdf?sequence=2

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