How to Help Your Child Overcome Test Anxiety
While having to take a test isn't the end of the world, to many children it might actually feel that way. Some children can feel so much anxiety at test-taking time that they will develop physical symptoms, nervousness and depression. If your child suffers from test anxiety, remember that adequate preparation will calm his nerves. Provide him with all the essentials on test day by making sure he has gotten a good night's sleep, eats a healthy breakfast and has all his supplies -- such as pencils, paper and a calculator -- packed and ready to go.
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Instructions
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Emphasize effort over grades. Learning comes easier to some children than others. While one child can get an "A" by barely cracking a book, another could study all week and still do no better than a "B." Praise your child for the effort you see her putting in. Encourage her and offer her little rewards when you see her doing her best.
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Prepare your child on a daily basis. Be sure he consistently completes assignments and homework. A child who keeps up with his schoolwork daily will absorb more than if he attempts a last-minute cramming session.
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Give practice exams. Identify a subject in which the child is struggling. Get the school textbook for that subject and use the information to create a practice exam. Duplicate the environment where his actual tests occur by turning off the television and sitting the child down at his desk. Later, praise him for his efforts on the practice exam.
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Help change your child's negative thoughts. Anxious children tend to have negative thoughts that might come out in comments such as "I hate tests!" or "I always fail." Gently help her to change those negative thoughts to more positive ones, such as "The more tests, I take the better I get at them" or "I always do better on tests that I study for." This can help greatly in reducing their anxiety on test day.
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Have the child do deep breathing exercises and meditation before taking tests to reduce anxiety. Show him how to do deep breathing exercises in the few minutes before a test is given. Tell him to imagine that he is breathing in calm and breathing out stress. Practice with him at home.
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Tell the child to envision remaining calm and doing well. Visualizing serenity during a test can help as well. Have him close his eyes and imagine that he is at his desk in school taking the test. Tell him to "see" himself as being perfectly calm and confident. While his eyes are closed, gently walk him through it. Say things like, "You are sitting at your desk and you are perfectly calm. You read the first question and you know the answer. You read the second question, and the answer comes to you easily. You are completely relaxed." The child will start feeling calmer at the actual test time if he practices this exercise enough.
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Tips & Warnings
Don't overemphasize grades or add undue pressure. As mentioned above, this will just increase a child's anxiety or worry about not doing well.
Don't be impatient or act like their fear is ridiculous. Don't say things like "Oh, just go take the test already and get it over with" or "Just stop worrying about it, you'll do fine." This will be of no help to the child and they actually might resent that kind of response because now they feel silly as well as anxious.
Don't ignore the problem hoping it will go away or get better on it own. If the problem isn't addressed early on, the situation could actually become worse. As one bad test experience turns into two, then into three, a child's anxiety level when test taking can escalate to the point where they are barely able to take a test at all.
Don't let them avoid it by staying home. As tempted as a parent might be to just let them skip the test altogether because of their anxiety, it is obvious that this is not a good solution because tests don't go away. Anxious children need solutions that will make test taking easier, not in finding creative ways avoid them.
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