Ultimate tips & tricks to battle board exam panic 

In India, board exams are of utmost importance and there is no getting away from this fact. Feeling nervous before competing with the rest of the nation or the state is normal. But becoming frozen with fear and panicking endlessly adversely affects performance.  

Board exams are almost knocking at the door with CBSE scheduled to commence from 26^th April for both classes X and XII, and ICSE for both classes to begin a day earlier, from 25^th April. So, we are here with a list of few common panic issues associated with board exams and ways to battle them.  

What causes board exam panic?  
Some of the most common causes of board exam phobia are: 

• Fear of scoring poorly: There is a chance factor associated with obtaining good scores in board exams. Many students worry about it so much they start panicking  
• Fear of the unknown and lack of control: Board exams throw students outside the school boundary. Even if the questions are ‘known’ this vast canvas is unknown, and their lack of control over the scenario scares them  
• Fear of not meeting parental expectations: Weaker students become terrified at the thought of scoring low or failing, while bright students fear they won’t be able to score high enough. Either way. They fear negative consequences at home
• Laying too much or too little importance to a subject: Sometimes students realise they are not well prepared only when they are close to the board exam. They might have studied a favourite subject too much and ignored the rest, or avoided a scary topic till the last moment  

Apart from the above, students can start panicking if they come across horror stories about board exam papers or low scores.  

How can you help your child tackle board exam panic?  
Here are some common sense tips that you can apply to calm your kid before the exam:  

Make a realistic plan: Create a study schedule for your child according to the time you have in hand and best possible syllabus coverage. Prevent your kid from laying much importance to any one topic, or bypassing a subject.

Regulate meal and sleep hours: Healthy meals and enough sleep keeps the head clear and prevents panic reactions within the body. Be gentle but firm on this issue and ensure that your kid sticks to a balanced daily schedule.

Lay importance to their career, and not your expectations: Don’t put across your expectations. Ultimately, it’s their report, and their career. Put that forward in gentle but firm terms. If they do well, it’s their credit, and losing marks due to fear will be their loss.

Keep your kid realistic: Tell your teen that their results so far are what they should look at to project possible board exam marks. There’s no need to overestimate or underestimate performance per subject.  

Finally (and this is the toughest!), prevent your teenager from logging in to social media reviews, gossip and even information from other kids. Comparing themselves to other students, positively and negatively, is one of the greatest sources of board exam panic. Board exams are important, but not the end of the world. Let your kid know he or she will remain just as precious to you, irrespective of their exam performance.