As a parent, you want your child to do the best he or she can in life. Whether it’s about academic, sporting or cultural interests, it’s normal for parents to have aspirations for their children. But when does support become pressure? And how does pressure affect a child?
When we think of gifted and talented children, we think of kids with high abilities, accelerated learning and exceptional performance. However, the truth is that gifted children can present complex challenges for parents. While gifted children have huge potential and exceptional prospects, the expectations of performance can result in problems.
Whether they’re facing practice exams or the real thing, most teenagers feel increased pressure as assessments approach. This can create added stress for students and others in their household. If left unmanaged, it may continue to build for some children, undermine achievement and, in the long-term, possibly cause health problems.
Here are some ideas for parents who want to support their son or daughter during the year as they prepare for exams. Most are written as suggested tips for students, so you can share them with your teenager and find out which tips they think would be good for them.
As a parent, you have a key role in passing your educational values onto your children and motivating them to achieve success at school. If you aren’t involved in your child’s education, chances are that they will understand this to mean you didn’t value it at all, and won’t put any effort in studying and fulfilling their school duties. To motivate your child to do better at school, you shouldn’t nag and criticise them, but rather use the following, more constructive techniques.
If the Australian education system received a report card, it would say ‘could do better’. The OECD Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is ranking Australia 14th, behind New Zealand and several third world countries, including Vietnam and Estonia . This drop in rankings is being blamed on a variety of failings, both systematic and cultural. While the government is slowly moving towards resolving these issues, if your child is in the schooling system now, it’s possible they’re falling behind their peers internationally. Education is critically important to ensure the very best opportunities for further education and future success in competitive job markets .
