Add more to your 'Knowledge Bank'

TIPS FOR PARENTS & STUDENTS

(to get over the Examination Stress)

Tips for students on how best to handle the exam season:-

Put together a revision timetable with sensible work slots and lots of breaks. Show it to your parents and get their buy-in - that way, when they find you ‘not working’, provided you’re following your agreed timetable, you shouldn’t get any hassle.

Know where all your exams are, when they start and how long they last. Find out what equipment and material you can or you can’t take in

Make sure you have one day at the weekend when you don’t do any revision at all - you’ll be all the more refreshed when you get back to it.

Tell your parents about your revision plans and ask for help if you need it - it may make them feel useful.

Refresh your memory from time to time, reciting and revising.

Some people revise well by listening, so try recording your revision onto tapes or CD, then listen to it while lying out and about. This also takes the guilt away from not being stuck in front of your books.

Eat and sleep properly. Now is not the time to diet or stay up all night.

Prepare everything you need for each exam the evening before. Make sure you have all the equipment you need, e.g. calculators, rulers etc. Your invigilator should remind you of what you can and can’t take into an exam before the exam starts - don’t forget that taking unauthorised equipment into the exam room can get you disqualified. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Cut down all your extra work

On the morning of the exam, have a good breakfast, stay calm and allow plenty of time to get there. Remember that you can only do your best.


Tips for parents on how best to handle the exam season

1. A dedicated space with minimal distractions and good natural light is best for studying. If you have other children, make sure they’re aware of the importance of revision time.
2. Ensure your child has one evening a week away from studies and takes regular breaks from studying.
3. Be around as a ‘feeding station’ - they need to keep up their energy.
4. Offer to help - you could test them, or ask if there’s anything else you can do.
5. Find out about your child’s revision timetable and encourage them to tell you about it. If you know that they’re not at their best first thing in the morning, get them to rest then and work when they are more lively. They should choose their weakest/sleepiest time of day to go out, or watch TV.
6. Know the exact date, time and location for each exam and incorporate this into the revision plan. Make sure that your child has the correct equipment needed for each exam (calculators, rulers, etc). Know what cannot be taken into the exam (mobile phones, pagers, etc).
7. If your child has a medical condition, such as diabetes or hayfever, make sure that the school knows. There are special considerations for some conditions.
8. If there is a family crisis, for example a divorce or bereavement, again ensure that your child’s teacher knows as this additional stress can affect exam performance, and again, special considerations may be made.
9. Make sure that they are actually using the internet to study and not just to pretending.
Tell them that they can only try their best.

DIETING TIPS

Part 1.

Check with your doctor before starting any diet.
Pick a reasonable ideal weight for yourself.
Examine your thinking about food.
Change your eating behavior.
Formulate a good exercise routine to be followed at the same time as you are dieting.
Record your weight once a week.
Keep a chart of your weight and measurements.
Put a photograph of yourself at your fattest on the fridge door and look at it as you reach in for a tempting smack.

PART – 2

Educate yourself about food.
Make a list of low calorie foods and carry this list when you are shopping.
Keep plenty of low calorie foods on hand.

PART – 3

Pinpoint the specific emotional state, which usually brings on an eating binge. Feelings of discouragement, anxiety and boredom are some of the many causes of compulsive eating patterns. Break your habit pattern by finding something else to do instead of eating whenever you feel that familiar emotion overcoming you. Any activity, such as writing a letter or calling a friend, will do the trick.

Practice overcoming your urge to eat: Open the refrigerator saying out loud, "I just can't stop myself from eating this food", and then close the door and walk away. Thus you will prove to yourself that you can break your snacking habit, and the more you practice this little exercise, the more automatic will become the action of closing the fridge door.
Be more sensitive to your stomach. If your stomach tells you that your appetite has been satisfied, then stop eating at once.

When confronted with your favorite food, compare it with a mental image of yourself as slim as you want to be. You will have no trouble deciding which is most important to you.

Change the emphasis of a meal from the food to a social occasion. Make a point of eating with another person, eating slowly and stopping when you feel comfortably satisfied. The other person can remove the food if you overeat. Then start practicing this alone until you are completely in control of yourself.

Rate your food on a 5 point scale, according to how important it is to you, making 5 the most important. Then allow yourself only the food highest up on your scale. This will save you many calories.

Break your habit of eating as soon as you get home by changing your usual routine. Park differently, use a different door, and immediately involve yourself in another activity rather than entering the kitchen.

Part – 4

Don't eat more than four meals per day.
Don't snack between meals.
Don't eat after 7 p.m.
Don't eat while watching T.V.
Don't eat when you are upset.
Don't keep "wrong" foods in the house.
Don't be inactive; keep busy all the time.
Don't eat large amounts.
Don't eat fast.
Don't stay up late at night when dieting.
Decrease consumption of fat, sugar and starches.
Increase consumption of vegetables, fish and cheese.
Drink plenty of water.
Eat plenty of grapefruit.
Avoid salt and season your food the low-calorie way by using herbs, spices, garlic, onions, chives, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, vinegar and lemon juice.
Drink a cup of skim milk before bedtime – courtesy: - Internet

PREGNANCY PROBLEMS

Listed below are several common complaints and treatment suggestions to be used after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Colds

Rest and increase fluid intake (preferably water). If your symptoms are very se consult a Doctor.

Constipation

This is very common in pregnancy. It is best to anticipate this and avoid letting it get severe. Increase your water intake to at least 8 glasses a day. Increase the amount of bulk — raw vegetables, fruit, bran cereal, raisins, prunes, etc. — you eat. If there is no improvement, consult a Doctor.

Indigestion

Avoid fried or spicy foods.

Cramping

As your uterus grows, you may experience menstrual-type cramping. This may start very early in pregnancy (six weeks). Cramping without bleeding is usually not a concern. Of course, any bleeding should be reported to your Doctor.

Hair Treatments

Coloring your hair during pregnancy is not recommended. Some of the chemicals may be absorbed through your scalp, and it is difficult to predict the effect on your hair during pregnancy.

Headaches

Headaches are a common complaint during pregnancy. You may take rest in a darkened room and put an ice pack on your head. Chronic or severe headaches may need further evaluation. Do not take any aspirin product.

Nausea

Nausea is usually worse during the first 12 weeks. It may help to eat small, more frequent meals (snacks), and eat a few saltine crackers before getting out of bed in the morning. Vomiting that persists or leads to dehydration (decreased urination) should be reported.

Insomnia

Insomnia is a common complaint in the last two months. Try using extra pillows or sleeping in a recliner.

Leg cramps

These usually occur at night. While they are not indicative of a calcium deficiency, taking a Tums before bedtime may help.

Backache

For lower back pain, rest with a heating pad on low heat. Try 30 minutes on and 30 minutes off. You may also want to buy a pregnancy sling to help support your abdomen and back.

Other Instructions

Report any vaginal bleeding, discharge or leaking of any type of fluid from the vagina.
You should not smoke, use alcohol or other drugs.
Take prenatal vitamins, one tablet daily.
Do not use saunas or hot tubs.
Travel: Generally, travel is restricted as of the seventh month (28 weeks) of pregnancy, or sooner if you have any complications. Discuss this with your doctor or nurse at your next appointment. Exercise: If you have not had any complications during your pregnancy, low-impact aerobics or walking is acceptable. Please discuss this with your doctor at one of your appointments.

PROVERBS TO EMULATE

A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered. --Proverbs 17:27
A merry heart does good, like medicine. --Proverbs 17:22
Fish or cut bait --American Proverb
A wise person is hungry for truth, while the fool feeds on trash. --Proverbs 15:14
Before enlightenment chop wood and carry water. After enlightenment chop wood and carry water. --Ancient Chinese Proverb
Have a vision not clouded by fear. --Cherokee Proverb
To know the road ahead, ask those coming back. --Chinese Proverb
Love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I really need it --Swedish Proverb
Love can turn the cottage into a golden palace. --German Proverb
He who begins many things finishes but a few. --Italian proverb
He who is ashamed of asking is ashamed of learning. --Danish Proverb
Teach your children to choose the right path, and when they are older, they will remain upon it. --Proverbs 22:6
Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all. --Proverbs 31:29
Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly. --Proverbs 3:18
All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast. --Proverbs 15:15
Yesterday is a dream, tomorrow but a vision. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore to this day. --Sanskrit Proverb
There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. --Proverbs 23:18
Love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I really need it. --Swedish Proverb
Love teaches even asses to dance. --French Proverb
A book is like a garden carried in the pocket. --Chinese Proverb
Begin to weave and God will give you the thread. --German Proverb
Man is harder than iron, stronger than stone and more fragile than a rose --Turkish proverb
Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow. --Swedish Proverb
It is not enough to aim, you must hit. --Italian proverb
He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever. --Chinese proverb
First secure an independent income, then practice virtue. --Greek Proverb
Talk doesn't cook rice. --Chinese proverb
You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was. --Irish Proverb
If a man does only what is required of him, he is a slave If a man does more than is required of him, he is a free man. --Chinese Proverb
Do not use a hatchet to remove a fly from a friend's forehead. --Chinese Proverb
Whoever pursues godliness and unfailing love will find life, godliness, and honor. --Proverbs 21:21
He that plants thorns must never expect to gather roses --English Proverb
There is no need to fasten a bell to a fool --Danish Proverb
Rast ich, so rost ich (When I rest, I rust.) --German Proverb
The torch of love is lit in the kitchen. --French Proverb
An evil man sows strife; gossip separates the best of friends. --Proverbs 16:28
There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. --Proverbs 23:18
Where there is no vision, the people perish. --Proverb
The sluggard does not plow after the season, so he begs during the harvest and has nothing. --Proverbs 20:4 The Bible
Friendship is a strong and habitual inclination in two persons to promote the good and happiness of one another. --Proverbs 17:17

You are a child of the Universe, no less than the moon and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the Universe is unfolding as it should. - Max Ehrmann
Our life is what our thoughts make it. - Marcus Aurelius
Think highly of yourself because the world takes you at your own estimate. - Anonymous