Help Me To Parent

5 Exam Tips Every Young Person Should Know!

Success is more than just studying hard—it’s about studying smart!

As we move through exam season, here are 5 quick tips to help students shine during state exams:

1. Plan It Out 📅
Create a study schedule that breaks your time into manageable chunks. Balance is key—mix study time with breaks and fun.

2. Practice Past Papers ✍️
Old exam papers are gold! They help you understand the format and train your brain to answer under time pressure.

3. Sleep Is Strategy 🛌
Cramming all night? Not worth it. Your brain needs rest to retain info and perform well. Prioritize 7-8 hours of quality sleep.

4. Eat to Win 🥦
Fuel your focus! Go for brain foods like nuts, fruits, veggies, and stay hydrated. Avoid too much sugar or caffeine.

5. Positive Vibes Only ✨
Mindset matters. Replace “I can’t” with “I’ll try.” Affirm your efforts, take deep breaths, and believe in yourself.

You’ve got this! Whether you’re in your last prep days or heading into the exam hall, remember: your effort matters more than perfection.

Let’s support each other—tag a friend who’s studying and share your top tip too!

For some parents, using the internet can be as scary as walking a tightrope across the Grand Canyon on a windy day. Some people get a complete mental block about using sites and either feel like they need to do a course or find someone to help them navigate sites…just in case they cause the computer to explode! It is very much based around a fear of the unknown. Many people didn’t get a chance to grips with the internet as it was evolving and have now almost resigned themselves to the fact that they just don’t know how to use it and that’s that.

Children and young people embrace the internet like it’s their best friend! There is absolutely no fear factor and they feel so confident that they will accept any new popular sites and learn as they go. They delve into nearly all nooks and crannies of sites they enjoy (many of these being social media outlets), until they figure out how it works and then off they go into cyberspace to discover the world.

There appears to be a sense of growing distance between some parents and children resulting in parents relying on media outlets to inform them of the “dangerous” sites that can cause their children harm, while at the same time, almost providing a road map for young people to explore a new site they shouldn’t.

How we access the internet is constantly changing and, as parents, it’s important to be aware of how your children are using the internet on a daily basis. We’ve progressed from a big bulking computer and monitor in the corner of the kitchen to having the ability to access the internet via tablets and phones and using glasses is just around the corner…who knows where this will lead us next!

With all this in mind, online bullying has become a real and tangible issue for both young and old alike. Whereas, years ago bullying was generally confined to outside the child’s door, with the ever expanding use of technology, we have unintentionally opened our front door and invited bullying into the home. As parents we can’t completely prevent our children from going online, and it’s important to not scaremonger your children about the internet but it is important to discuss with them how they can keep themselves safe while online, just as you would teach them about road safety or stranger danger.

Here are some tips for parents who would like to raise their awareness of the internet and their children’s online presence.

Tips for Parents

- Make sure you have good lines of communication open with your children.
- Learn about what social media your children use and how they use it.
- Don’t overreact if you find something that makes you uncomfortable, it’s possible your child got there by accident.
- Try and get a good balance in relation to managing their online activity.
- Don’t be afraid to check internet history.
- Encourage your child to let you know if they ever feel uncomfortable.
- Save any abusive/concerning messages sent to your children, no matter what devise it is on.
- Report any obscene messages to your local police.
- Set guidelines for internet use whether at home or on mobile devices.
- Manage their screen time.
- Get parental controls on your devices and your children’s devices. Use filtering software and keep it up to date.

Sibling Rivalry & Kids Fighting

We all know the scene. Your children are having a row, each is blaming the other and they are calling you and expecting you to sort it out. Meantime, you are frustrated and disappointed that they can’t seem to get along and, in most cases, asking what happened so you can judge the situation and assign appropriate punishments. We know the scene:

Child2 (shouting) “Mum/Dad – he/she hit me and won’t give me back my game”
Parent “Oh for goodness sake, calm down and tell me what happened”
Child 1 “he/she started it!”
Child 2 “No I didn’t – you did!”
Child 1 “he hit me”
Parent “Did you hit your sister/brother?”
Child 2 “Yes, but he/she kicked me first.”
Child 1 “No I didn’t – you took my game!”
Parent “Did you take the game?”
Child 1 “You always take his/her side”

And so on and on and on…….this usually escalates into a huge row, the three of you are shouting and everyone is getting very stressed out! Continue reading here: https://helpme2parent.ie/articles/sibling-rivalry/