3-Minute Guru

Helping kids cope with exams amid holiday chaos

BY AMY MORRIS

Are midterm exams or some other form of half-year testing on your holiday "to do" list?  As an adult, probably not; but chances are, if you have high-school students living under your roof, it is on their list.  What can you do to help this stressful situation during an all-too-chaotic time of year?

You cannot take the exam for them (do we even remember half the stuff they are being taught?), but there are things you can do to lessen the stress they are carrying.

Be lenient in their chore assignments. This is one time you can even help them to complete their tasks (if you have the time).

• If it is your child's job to make his/her bed each morning before school, perhaps set your alarm 10 minutes earlier than usual so that you can do it for them.  
• If it is his/her responsibility to set the dinner table at night, you can set the table in the morning before heading out the door to school or, if you?re lucky enough to have one, ask your nanny or housekeeper to do so before the end of their work day.

• If you know it will be a busy evening, and family members will not be sitting down to a meal together, prepare sandwiches.  Wrap, label and place them in the refrigerator in advance.
• If you have prepared a more substantial meal, fill a plate with that person's serving.  Cover, label and place in the refrigerator.  When hungry, they can grab it and heat it in the microwave easily.  
• Also consider putting food in the oven or on the cook top on a low temperature to keep it warm, and family members can serve themselves.
• Keep healthy snacks on hand, such as fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts, pre-cut veggies, popcorn, etc., for the kids to grab while studying. Try to stay away from caffeine, chocolate and the carbohydrate quick energy jolt.  The burst won't last, and then you'll have a sleeping teenager rather than a studying teenager.

• Have them take a 5- to 10-minute break in their studies when it makes sense, to gather up sporting equipment, books, calculators, musical instruments, etc.  Place them together closest to the morning exit door so that in the morning they are not scrambling to locate essentials.

• If they need your help, you can plan in advance to make sure you are available.
• If they use or require a tutor, or have a review session at school, you can schedule the sessions in advance and make sure you are available for chauffeuring, if necessary.
• It will also prompt you to wish them good luck and ask how the exam went.

• Block out times for sports and activities as well as the all-important, "study time."

• Explain to your child that they should not busy themselves with the less important items and, to try not to let menial distractions (Facebook, Twitter, texting, etc.) divert their attention.

• Explain to your child that at a certain point their brains are too tired to absorb and retain any more information and that it is better for them to get a good night's rest than to continue to stare at their notes and books through blurry eyes.