Important Warnings to Parents Before YKS : "It's not time for pressure, it's time for support"

One day before the Higher Education Institutions Exam (YKS), both students and families are under intense exam stress. According to experts, the attitude of parents as well as students in this period can directly affect the success of the exam. Istanbul Gelisim University Psychological Counselor Mehmet Döngeloğlu shared the attitudes that parents should avoid and the healthy forms of communication they should establish with their children.

Unrealistic expectation, comparison and last minute printing are among the biggest mistakes

Emphasizing that students go through a mentally tired and emotionally sensitive period, especially in the last days of the exam process, Döngeloğlu stated that parents may harm their children without realizing it. According to Döngeloğlu, the behaviors that parents should definitely not are as follows:
• Imposing unrealistic expectations,
• Comparing them with their friends,
• Reflecting the parent's own exam anxiety to the child,
• Saying "study a little more" although there is very little time left for the exam,
• Making the exam seem like the only way out of life,
• Interrogating him/her as soon as he/she finishes the exam.

Communication can be as decisive as the exam

Döngeloğlu said, "Students need not only information but also understanding in this period. Parents' communication with their children is very significant. In order for this communication to be healthy, he made the following suggestions:
• Listen actively instead of constantly giving advice,
• Sincerity should be at the forefront instead of motivation: sentences such as "I see your effort" should be preferred, not "You are the best",
• Arguments should be avoided,
• Emotional support should be maintained after the exam.

It is necessary to understand not to suppress stress

Underlining that stress is a natural part of this process, Döngeloğlu said, "Being excited and anxious shows how much effort the student puts into this process. These feelings need to be understood, not suppressed.”

Some points that parents should pay attention to in this process are as follows:
• Sleep, nutrition and general physical needs of the student should be supported,
• The home environment should be peaceful, safe and predictable,
• The student should not be burdened with social tasks that he/she does not want,
• Issues such as what to eat on the morning of the exam and what time to get up should be planned in advance.

Exam day is a calm time, not a crisis

Emphasizing the importance of parents behaving "normal" on the day of the exam, Döngeloğlu summarized what needs to be done that morning as follows:
• Make the day ordinary, do not remind the importance of the exam,
• Emphasize the effort, not the result,
• Complete preparations (exam entry document, breakfast, etc.) in advance,
• Avoid last-minute repetitions,
• Do not reflect your fuss on the child. Because emotions are contagious.

"The exam is not a result; it is a process"

Completing his words to the parents, Istanbul Gelisim University Psychological Counselor Mehmet Döngeloglu, "In this process, I tried to help you, our esteemed parents, about what you should pay attention to in the last days of the exam. You worked hard for a whole semester, for better or for worse. Now there is very little time left for the exam. I hope you have a good exam process in which you get the value of your efforts."