Positive Things Kids Can Learn From A Bad Exam

Taking exams is part of a kid’s development. Regardless of their age and school, expect that your kids will have to study and ace an exam.

However, it’s not all the time that kids can always have positive results from an exam. More often than not, they’ll be looking for tips to recover after a bad exam result and feel bad about it. As a parent or guardian, you can turn things around and let your kids understand that they can learn positive things from a bad exam.

The result of your kids’ exam is important, but it shouldn’t dictate the quality of their lives in the future. The moment your kids had a bad exam, let them realize about the positive things they can learn from it, such as:

1.     It’s Not The End Of The Road

Most kids will feel bad after getting a bad score from an exam, especially if they’re surrounded by peers who did better than them. Usually, they’ll lose their self-confidence and think that they can never improve in the future. Letting your kids have this kind of mindset can lead to anxiety and depression.

One way of taking care of your kids’ mental health is to let them understand that a bad exam isn’t the end of the road for them. As a parent or guardian, acknowledge their failure, but don’t solely focus on it. Instead of blaming them for the results of their exams, tell them that there are countless chances to do better in school and even in life. Most importantly, don’t let them doubt their skills just because they had a bad exam.

2.     It Helps Kids Redefine Their Priorities In Life

Kids have a lot of things on their plate. Aside from attending school, they also have to maintain positive relationships with their peers and family and excel in extracurricular activities. Additionally, this is also the time of their lives when they’re still trying to figure out what they want to do in the long-term. Managing all of these responsibilities can be overwhelming, but a bad exam can help your kids redefine their priorities in life.

A bad exam can make or break your kids. Once they tell you that they had a bad exam, sit down with them, and help them assess what went wrong. Were they able to study days before the exam? Or were they too occupied in hanging out with their friends? Did they make an effort to take down notes during class or look for study materials online? Or were they missing classes just to show up for cheerleading or basketball tryouts?

As mentioned, it’s typical for kids to have a lot of responsibilities, but this doesn’t mean that they should compromise their studies. If you think they had a bad exam because of playing sports, advise them to spend more time studying. Help them assess their priorities in life, and if possible, teach them time management.

Once your kids know what their priorities are, it’ll be easier for them to determine what to do first and what comes next.

3.     It Can Determine Who Your Kids’ True Friends Are

Your kids' peers can play a big role in their development. If your kids are surrounded by negative people, your kids will be hindered to achieve their full potentials. In worse cases, this kind of friends can even lead them to doubt themselves, their skills, and the things they can do in the future.

Getting a bad exam will become an eye-opener experience for your kids to determine who their real friends are. When your kids are succeeding, a lot of people would want to be with them. However, when they experience failure, only those people who are loyal to your kid will stay.

After learning that your kids had a bad exam, ask what were the reactions of the people around them. Did their peers laugh at them? Or did they actually encourage them to do better and pacified the situation for your kids to feel better?

Encourage your kids to only stay with peers who’ll stick with them through successes and failures. These people will uplift your kids to do better and excel in life.

Think Positive

Exams are just a small part of your kids’ lives. Grades are important, but there are other facets of life, which can also contribute to their growth and development.

Once your kids tell you that they have a bad exam, look at the brighter things and let them understand the life lessons they can learn from the experience. Talk them out of their misery by using the tips from this article.