Coping with final year school exams and how best to support your teenager

By Hello Coach CEO, Victoria Mills

With final year exams underway across Australia at the moment chances are tensions are running high in many households. The additional stress of studying is enough to fray emotions in even the most stable of families.

Signs of stress in your teenager can include physical symptoms such as skin breakouts, nail biting, headaches and teeth grinding and also emotional red flags like short tempers, lack of sleep and negative talk.

Whether or not these signs surface there are some simple strategies you can take to ensure they get the best results they can.

Get plenty of sleep

Teenagers need more sleep than most adults simply because they’re in their hormonal growth years. Sleep is also one of the most important factors in learning and solidifying that knowledge.

• Aim for consistent sleep. If that means always going to bed at 1am that is okay, but make sure at least 8-9 hours of sleep happens on the other end.
• Avoid caffeine late in the day, especially after 4pm.
• Practice all the great zero-cost sleep hygiene ideas such as eliminating light in their bedroom, keeping it a cool temperature, a hot shower or bath before bed, etc.
• Limit phone use. Have your teenager  ‘dock’ their phone with you an hour or so before they go to bed. Snapchat and TikTok notifications at 3am are guaranteed to wreck their sleep!

Eat well, feel well

If your teen has good food habits, then you are in luck.  But if not, this is probably not the time to shake things up too much.  Food is one of the few obvious pleasures during periods of stress and it is probably best to ‘manage’ their diet with as much healthy food as you can.

• Have a good meal ready when they get home; make it low-GI with lots of complex carbs – they need the energy!
• Have healthy snacks ready for them during study breaks.
• Drink lots of water, especially in the morning

Follow healthy habits

The mind body connection is particularly important during stress periods of life – think about doing these things with your child.

• Mindfulness – this can be as simple as short regular meditations such as box breathing exercises or listening to music to help clear their minds of the worry and strain
• Exercise – Take study walks with them. You can quiz them or show them flashcards or just listen to them.
• Set the right space – make sure they’re studying in a distraction-free and light-flooded space. Keep it in an area that you can supervise or at least be present in
• Schedule everything – Put a calendar on the fridge and mark off the days until the exams.  Frightening yes, but sometimes a sense of urgency is needed. And make some regular times for them to blow off some steam or see their friends.
• Encourage – Celebrate the little wins and give them a sense they are moving ahead and getting better.

Most importantly, don’t forget to take care of yourself too – keeping yourself rested and healthy ensures you can give the right kind of support. If you find yourself struggling, consider getting yourself a professional coach to help you with the burden – just as you’re ‘coaching’ your child to achieve their best, sometimes it helps to have somebody in your corner too.

This is a stressful time and your teen will see the next few weeks as an eternity. But if you support them and encourage them you can get there as a team.

Hello Coach CEO, Victoria Mills recognises the stress exam time can cause for teens.