the times Saturday June 11 2022
Body + Soul 7
material like the Battle of Hastings —
1066, that doesn’t need complex process-
ing, it can work.” But, she cautions, less is
more. “If there is too much new learning
on the day it can interfere with recall of
older material.”Help them to manage
their phone use
If adolescents are to work efficiently they
need to resist their phone, Eriksen says.
You might suggest they put their phone in
another room, and say, “Why don’t you
work for two and a half hours effectively,
instead of three and a half hours with your
phone there?” Then it can be a reward.
Dr Larry D Rosen, a professor emeritus
of psychology at California State Univers-
ity advises the following technique to learn
to focus. Suggest that your adolescent
takes one minute (timed) to close all web-Teenagers are in
the thick of their
A-levels and GCSEs.
Anna Maxted has
the survival tips
A
fter all the build-up and
uncertainty, teenagers
are sitting their public
exams. And it’s a uniquely
stressful time for every-
one involved. So what
can parents do to help
their children to get through A-levels
and GCSEs? Here’s what the education
experts say.
Keep the momentum
going with small rewards
The revision and exam period is a long
haul — we’re only at the halfway mark. So
how do you maintain your child’s stamina,
and motivation? Dr Carina Eriksen, a
chartered counselling psychologist and
co-author of The Panic Workbook, says
that balance is key. Encourage your child
to take breaks and see their friends.
For all teenagers, having something to
look forward to, imminently and long-
term, is important, she says, “so book
things they’d like to do when exams are
finished”. On a weekday, make their
favourite meal. At weekends, plan cinema
trips or a visit to a favourite restaurant.
She advises parents to “let them get
away with more than normal”. So, if they
reject your salmon and kale brain food and
insist on Deliveroo burgers in front of the
TV, Eriksen says: “Unless we’re talking
about a child who is restricting food or
overeating during the exam period, there’s
no reason for concern.”
It’s not too late —
last-minute cramming
can work
The good news is that there’s time to cram
in some last-minute knowledge. Dr Mithu
Storoni, a neuroscience researcher and the
author of Stress-Proof: The Scientific Solu-
tion to Protect Your Brain and Body and Be
More Resilient Every Day, suggests getting
your teenager to exercise after studying.
A 2016 study found that exercise taken
four hours after learning can help you to
retain information. Excitement too can
help to cement learning. “Weak events
that become transient memories can be
made into stronger memories by tagging
them with an exciting event,” Storoni says.
Research in 2012 found that watching an
exciting short video after a psychology
lecture made students better remember
the lecture’s content. You could suggest
watching an episode of Stranger Things or
Top Boy after study, or a game of tennis.
It’s not ideal, but it’s possible to keep on
learning up to the wire, even on the day of
an exam. Storoni says: “If it’s simple factual
sites and apps, silences their phone and
sets an alarm for 15 minutes. “Put the
phone, screen-down, where they can see it
as a reminder when they start worrying
about missing out on important commu-
nications.” When the alarm rings they get
one minute to check in, then they should
repeat the process. Ideally, your child
should increase their focus time until they
can do 30 minutes or more.If they don’t know when
to stop, step in
When it comes to work, knowing when to
stop is as important as the discipline of
starting, says Erica Komisar, a psychoana-
lyst and the author of Chicken Little, the Sky
isn’t Falling: Raising Resilient Adolescents in
the Age of Anxiety. If your child is anxious-
ly wearing themselves out with revision,
remind them that when you’re calm,
relaxed and rested you absorb more than
when you’re anxious, overtired and
stressed out. “Good study habits do not
mean studying excessively, they mean
balancing study with breaks. That might
be 30 minutes on and ten minutes off, or
one hour on and 20 minutes off.”Don’t panic! Help them
to stay calm if an exam
doesn’t go well
How do you talk a teenager down if they’re
convinced that an exam has gone badly —
or the post-exam dissection on socialmedia is whipping them into panic? “En-
courage them to talk about what they feel
has not gone well, and why,” Eriksen says.
“But it’s important for parents to be opti-
mistic. Suggest that until they get their
results they don’t really know how they’ve
done. Gently guide them towards under-
standing that they have to focus on the
next exam.”
It’s also helpful, she says, to encourage
the attitude that, “Once we leave the exam
room, we try to leave the exam behind. We
don’t second-guess how we’ve done.” You
might also note, Eriksen says, that if it’s a
particularly tough exam “they lower the
grade band accordingly”. And if your child
doesn’t pass? “Worst-case scenario they
retake, or do a gap year. It’s not the end of
the world.”Know when to leave
them to itYou want to be supportive, but you don’t
want to be irritating. How involved should
you be? Ask your child, Eriksen says.
“Would they like support from you, and if
so, how? Or would they rather be left alone
to focus? If so, trust them to get on with it,
and assure them, ‘I’m always here if you
need support.’ ”
She adds that parents should speak up if
they have concerns about their child get-
ting through the exams — in terms of
mental health, rather than performance. If
they’re becoming stressed, demotivated or
they’re not eating properly, Eriksen says,
“Step in. Say, ‘I’m noticing X, Y, and Z —
what can I do to help?’ ”The nutritious breakfasts
to avoid brain fog
One practical thing that you can do as a
parent is try to ensure that your teenager
eats something nutritious before their
exam. Rhiannon Lambert, a registered
nutritionist and author of The Science of
Nutrition recommends: “Wholegrain or
brown bread or toast, with eggs, porridge
oats with nut butters, bananas with yo-
ghurt, or a bowl of low-sugar cereal, instead
of sugary cereals or white bread. They will
help to prevent sharp spikes in their blood
sugar levels and will help to avoid them
getting ‘brain fog’ and losing focus.”
Remind them to drink enough fluids
(preferably not high-sugar energy drinks
or multiple coffees) — dehydration can
adversely affect energy and focus.Make sure they get
enough sleep
Sleep is your child’s greatest ally, says Dr
Neil Stanley, an independent sleep expert
and the author of How to Sleep Well.
To maximise their chances of restful
sleep, “make sure there’s a decent period of
winding down between putting down their
textbooks and switching off the light”.
He advises that your teenager sticks to a
fixed wake-up time every day, including
weekends. “The body craves routine, and
having a set wake time means that the
brain and body can hit the ground running
in the morning.”GETTY IMAGESAsk your child
if they’d like
support from
you or if they’d
like to be left
alone to focus
Exam SOS How to keep them
calm and carry on: a parents’ guide