It's not the end of the road

Dejection from the exam result happens but its not the end of the road. Parental guide presented here on th basis of TOI article.

Box Item 1

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

# Being prepared for accepting the worst is the key

# If the child had higher expectations and misses it by a few marks, reiterate that board result is not the be all and end all.

# Stay away from using negative language like "You did not study enough'' or"You never listened to us when we asked you to study''.

# Emphasise how people who made it big like Bill Gates and Dhirubhai Ambani were not scholars. If the child is committed, the future is bright.

# Do not blame your child or compare his result with other children, if he scores less.

# If the result is not up to the mark, keep your cool. Do not show any visible signs of being upset.

# Do not encourage people to give advice to the child

# If you see that the child is visibly upset, give a pep-talk and do not leave him alone.

# If the child shows apparent symptoms of shock and despair, consult a psychiatrist.

Box Item 2

Alarming signs

* The child is in a state of shock and stops talking with family members

* If the child continuously utters negative sentences or makes guilt-ridden statements

* Does not sleep at night or weeps continuously

* Remains aloof

Box Item 3

Let the child decide

* Experts say it is important to judge the ability of a child before pushing him into a high performance course as many average children fail to keep pace and suffer from severe depression due to their inability to perform.

* If a child scores average marks and you are prompted to use money power to buy payment seats in medical or other high cut-off professional course, it is advisable that you give your decision a second thought.

* "There have been several students who came to me and discussed that they didn't find studies interesting as they were forced to take up the course which their parents wanted. Many of the students even failed to pass in the course as they went for it unwillingly and just for the sake of parents. Parents should thus, understand that a forceful decision for a child would land him nowhere.

Marks can never be a real judge for an individual's talent and calibre and a student can perform exceptionally well in his career despite his less score in the school. Awards are not important for what has already been accomplished, but encouragement for what can come next.