As the flower of our youth enter the purgatory of EXAM TERM, its time to take things a little restfully. 

For those of us whose exam life ended years ago, there might be a tendency to forget just how stressful to a young adult it can be – a combination of adult/peer expectation to do well, the loss of liberty that revision entails and the home curfew imposed until exam time is over, meaning Romeo and Juliet can only email, text, skype, (insert appropriate technology here) rather than meet palm to palm. 

Each family has its own way of coping through this trying period and the following are just extra options to try and maintain family calm.

While it is no doubt stressful for the young ones, the burden of trying to maintain a healthy family life, having to fit around revision and angst, can take its toll on adults.  Its important that you stay level headed, strong, sympathetic and supportive but being supermum or super dad can sap even the most perfect parent.  Something as simple as a head or shoulder massage can help reduce stress in the body.  Both Oswestry Herbarium and Time for You Therapies can help here.  In addition, Time for You are running free meditation courses that will give you the space to sort yourself out and present that calm and loving being your children need right now.

Go and walk.  While the weather may be variable (good ol’ British Summertime), the evening light is good enough to take yourself off for an hour’s stroll – whether around your town park  or out in the local countryside.  As you walk, allow all the myriad of thoughts swirling around to float up and out like dandelion clocks and, as that happens, take in the scents of the evening flowers, or listen to the dusk chorus and allow yourself to enter into nature’s pace for a while. 

Meals and meal times.  Set one family meal time a day – probably supper – make the dishes easy and buffet style or finger food.  Only set one rule – that the family is there for supper and then no questions about revision/boyfriend-girlfriend/what you did today etc.,  just let the family eat and refuel.

Weekends –  as relaxed as possible, its hard enough to communicate with a child under exam stress, let enough one with exploding hormones, so just be there for them, when they need you, make sure snarfing food is in the fridge, keep yourself chilled rather than the wine and take deep breaths. Dial a take out on the Friday and keep it simple.

Art – Oswestry has so much art happening in the next couple of weeks.  Take yourself off to Qube or Willow Gallery and immerse yourself in colour.  Art as therapy.