Helping Children Deal with Poor PSLE Results

Communication is an important aspect for the child to process and deal with the stress of the preparation for PSLE (or any exam for that matter). Some children tend to not want to talk about their feelings and emotion if they feel threatened or unsafe. These can be because they fear their parents will get angry at them or maybe because they don’t know how their parents will react. When this happens, parents should wait and give their children the time to reach out to them and when they do finally decide to speak with their parents, they should be in an environment where they feel safe. Let the child speak first about their emotions, feelings, hesitations, etc. before also saying what you have in mind.

Children at this age and time will be more hesitant. They want to be heard so it’s important to let them finish talking first before giving them any advice or responding to what they are feeling. Remember that approaching the parents may be no easy feat for them and if parents interrupt or invalidate their emotions, they may revert to feeling down. When speaking with the child, let them understand that getting lower results or grades are not signs that everything is over for them. Instead, help them understand that while PSLE is important, it will only determine their educational capacity now and not in the long run. It helps if they want to be admitted to their dream school, but it can also narrow down the schools in which they can study in.

You see movies all the time wherein the main character receives a pep talk from their coach or mentor before a pivotal moment in their character arc. The same principle can be used in real life and during these times when the child especially feels down. Let the child understand that this is just one of the many challenges they will face in their lives. They may succeed and they may fail, but nothing is ever set in stone and it doesn’t mean they if they fail to get the scores they want, they could still succeed in the future. Also, it’s always a good idea to remind the child that there will always be people like his/her friends and family, who will support them every step of the way.

If taken a step further, parents can also mention people who have made it despite having poorer school results. This doesn’t mean that they should throw away the exam, but only to serve as an inspiration that even if they fail at something, if they work hard and continue to work towards their goal, they can achieve the same level of success. After all, if these people have done it, why couldn’t he/she?