Helping Your Child Handle School & Exam Stress

Is your child feeling overwhelmed by exams or school pressures? From NAPLAN to Year 12 exams, students today are dealing with a lot of stress. This article shares six expert tips to help your child build resilience, ease anxiety, and stay engaged with their studies – all with guidance from Aussie Edu Hub.

How to Help Your Child Cope with Exams and School Pressure

By Mark Rohald, co-founder of Aussie Edu Hub

For many parents, standardised tests and the chase for academic excellence can create extra stress for their child – and the whole family. In Australia, kids face numerous high-pressure tests like NAPLAN, Year 12 final exams, and selective school assessments. The pressure to do well in these exams can cause anxiety, self-doubt, and a negative attitude towards learning.

Gaining entry to top schools and universities is becoming more competitive, which means more students feel the strain to perform well, with some even reaching breaking point. But don’t worry! As a parent, you can support your child in managing these pressures and help them succeed academically.

Why Do Students Experience Test Anxiety?

Exams like NAPLAN (for Years 3, 5, 7, and 9), Opportunity Classes, Year 12 final exams, and achieving an ATAR (for university entry) are meant to assess knowledge and skills. However, they can also lead to unexpected stress and anxiety. Here’s why:

• Fear of failure: Many students worry that poor results will let their parents down or close off future opportunities.
• Comparing with friends: Kids often compare their scores with friends, or teachers may display class-wide results, which can lead to embarrassment and a loss of confidence.
• Pressure from parents and teachers: While it’s great to encourage kids to do their best, too much focus on results can make children feel like their worth is only tied to their grades.
• The exam format and expectations: Some students struggle with exam techniques, managing time, or even just the thought of sitting through a high-pressure test.

How Do School and Academic Pressures Affect Students?

Many parents are worried about how their child’s academic results might affect future educational opportunities, and today’s societal expectations often make this worse. This pressure can show up in several ways:

• Increased anxiety and stress – High expectations can lead to burnout, which harms both mental health and motivation.
• Avoiding mistakes – Some students become fixated on not making errors instead of developing a genuine passion for learning.
• Loss of confidence – When students struggle with a subject or fail to meet academic expectations, they can begin to question their own abilities.
• Reduced interest in learning – External pressure can turn schoolwork into a chore, instead of keeping it as something fun and curious.

What Can You Do to Help Your Child Manage Anxiety and Academic Pressure?

As a parent, your goal should be to help your child build resilience and keep their self-confidence intact, so they can reach their academic potential without feeling stressed out. Here are six tips to help you do just that:

1. Shift the focus from grades to learning: Encourage your child to see exams as a learning experience rather than a measure of their intelligence or future success. Instead of asking, “What score did you get?”, try asking, “What did you learn from this test?” “What would you do differently next time?” and “What’s the area you improved the most in?” Celebrating small wins helps them develop a growth mindset.
2. Manage stress and teach coping strategies: Explain that it’s okay to feel nervous about exams, but they’re not the end of the world. Help your child develop coping techniques such as:
   • Deep breathing or mindfulness exercises
   • Breaking study sessions into shorter, focused blocks of time
   • Staying active with regular exercise to manage stress
   • Eating well and getting enough sleep before exams
3. Develop effective study habits: Encourage regular, manageable study sessions instead of cramming the night before. Help your child:
   • Create a study plan with regular breaks
   • Use study techniques like summarising notes, using flashcards, and reviewing past exam papers
   • If your child is struggling with a particular subject, personalised one-on-one tutoring (like the kind offered by Aussie Edu Hub) can help close any knowledge gaps before they become bigger issues.
4. Explain that exams aren’t everything: Remind your child that one test doesn’t define their abilities or future. Schools consider multiple factors in determining final grades – not just exam results. There are also alternative paths to university and career options that don’t rely solely on an ATAR score.
5. Manage your own stress and expectations: Children are very good at picking up on their parents’ stress and expectations. While it’s natural to want the best for your child, try to:
   • Focus on encouraging effort rather than perfection
   • Reinforce the idea that intelligence is not fixed – skills improve with time and practice
   • Avoid comparing your child to siblings or classmates
6. Seek extra support when needed: If your child is experiencing significant anxiety or academic struggles, consider professional help:
   • Tutoring services: Personalised tutoring can help your child feel more confident in challenging subjects.
   • School counsellors: If anxiety is affecting their well-being, speaking to a professional can help.
   • Parent-teacher communication: Keep in regular contact with your child’s teachers to understand how they’re doing and where they may need extra help.

A Healthy Approach to Success

Standardised tests are an important part of our school system, and this isn’t likely to change anytime soon. However, these tests should not have a negative impact on a child’s self-esteem or future potential. By helping your child understand the purpose of these tests, manage stress, build resilience, and develop solid study habits, you’re giving them the tools to succeed in life-long learning.

At Aussie Edu Hub, we offer personalised one-on-one online tutoring to help students prepare for NAPLAN, Year 12 exams, and other assessments, all with a focus on reducing student stress. Our expert tutors provide tailored support in Maths, English, Chemistry, Physics, and Biology. If you’re looking for ways to support your child, find out how Aussie Edu Hub can help with exam preparation and academic success.

About the author, Mark Rohald:

Mark is a former university lecturer with over 30 years of experience in education. He’s founded several private and publicly listed education companies and served on the boards of over 25 educational organisations. Mark is also a Director and the Executive Deputy Chairman of Aussie Edu Hub.