What you need to know:
- Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, Mr Patrick Onyango, said parents should counsel their children, even when they don’t get the grades that they desire.
Mr Dickson Tumuramye, a parenting coach, has urged parents to appreciate their children after the release of national exam results irrespective of how they performed.
He explained that this shows the children that they are loved and will be encouraged to work harder at the next level.
Mr Tumuramye also noted that parents need to prepare children, engage them before the results come, ask them what they expect to get and their plans in case they didn’t get what they expect.
“We also know that failure is part of life but when you recognise your failure and know how it happened, it helps you to recognise your mistake, refocus, learn well and aim at doing better next time,” Mr Tumuramye told this publication yesterday.
He also said parents should also counsel their children in case they failed exams and inform them that life doesn’t end with formal education.
“Parents …only focus on formal education yet there are children who are doing well in music and football. We have comedians and musicians who are earning money from their works yet they did not study while others studied but are not doing what they studied,” Mr Tumuramye said.
Psychosocial support
Mr Ali Male, a psychologist at A-Z Professional Counselling Support Centre in Kampala, said parents need to listen and support their children, especially during and after exams.
“We always find out that most parents are not aware of the needs and challenges of their children, especially the psychosocial needs of the children, they need love, care, attention, soft guidance and not harsh treatment,” he said.
Mr Male also noted that schools should provide mental experts to prepare the children for exams to avoid instances of children committing suicide after failing to get meet their expectations.
He explained that the examination process comes with stress, anxiety and fear of failure , among others.
He noted that the government should come up with a strategic plan for the children who fail so that they do not feel like they are doomed.
Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, Mr Patrick Onyango, said parents should counsel their children, even when they don’t get the grades that they desire.
“Parents need to tell their children that it’s not the end of the world even if they do not get Aggregate 4. Parents should not be harsh to their children, threatening them that” if you don’t get such and such marks, you will see” this statement alone will scare away the child,” he told Daily Monitor on January 30.
