Exam time & kids - are WE ready before them?

It's not been much time since my daughter joined her school. She has just started taking baby steps, one at a time being a student who goes to nursery.

And I had just started settling in my new found bliss, me time of 3 hours where she isn't home. I used to worry as a mom if she would be fine, if she would finish her lunch, if she would interact with her classmates, if she would be able to understand what her teacher says.... The list is endless!!

What didn't bother me AT ALL was:-

How is she doing in school in comparison to her classmates, if she is good in studies or not? What rank would she get in exams n things like that.

Now, I considered myself to be pretty chilled out when it came to my daughter's studies, and was happy about it and took pride in it, since I have always believed in teaching the child, explaining things, but not forcing them to achieve something. Letting the child achieve what he/she is meant to, and letting them go for the things which they want to pursue in life has been my motto since I had her.

My pride and joy came to a screeching halt today, when I received the monthly planner from her school, which said that she is having her first exams next month.

I was flabbergasted... Do nursery kids have exams too? What would they ask from kids her age though? She can't even write on her own... obviously, what would you expect from a kid who isn't even 3 yet? She knows how alphabets and numbers look like, and can tell words from an alphabet too. But... like mostly all toddlers her age, she prefers to be silent infront of others asking her a question.

Makes sense... She is comfortable with me and her dad, so she answers us if we ask something, but chooses to keep silent if others do. Sounds familiar? I was very much similar to her in my childhood, speaking only when necessary.

My pride, as I said shattered, as I found myself panicking about her exams, will she be able to answer the questions that her teacher asks? Will she be able to hold the pencil on her own and atleast scribble something sensible on paper, will she be able to tell the rhymes I have taught her, or the ones she has learnt at school??

I would soon start biting my nails too, but then suddenly I felt, why am I doing this? She is just a baby. I agree, competition is too much in today's time, but every child is meant to do something, not necessarily academics. If she is good in studies, it's very good. If she isn't, no issues. She will do what she likes. All kids are different, all have their own capacities.

My parents were pretty chilled out when it came to my academics. In my college, I remember when I messed up a paper and was howling my lungs out, my mom said, why are you worried? What's going to happen? At the most you will fail and will have to repeat the paper, do it. It's not the end of the life afterall... Don't worry n prepare for the next paper.

Pretty cool right? I wish I could be chilled out as her!!

It's not good to pressurize children for something we want. Indeed it's important for us to make them ready to face competition, to be able to give their best, to ensure they are prepared for whatever challenges life throws at them, academically or not, and have their back whenever they need us. Success is important, but failures are important too. It gives experience, and knowledge so as to what not to do in life. I've hence, started preparing my daughter for her upcoming exams, but now, I'm much more relaxed and composed. If we aren't ready ourselves, we will pressurize our kids unnecessarily, which is useless at this point of time for them.

They are kids afterall, so we should just let them be😊

Do let me know if you have been through something like this, what do you do when your child has exams, or what have you thought of doing in future... Looking forward to hearing from all of you.

Till we meet again 😊
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