Exam stress weighs heavy on young children, causing them to start smoking

Children as young as 10-years-old are reported as starting to smoke during exam season.

In a recent poll of 1,000 students as young as 10, eight of them were found to have smoked before taking the Key Stage Two SATs last year.

MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - Stress from exam preparations were observed to prompt young students to consume a lot of junk food and high-sugar energy drinks. Fear of failing the exam added even more pressure.

The survey by Kelloggs revealed that 37 of the examinees last year admitted to eating chocolate before taking the exams, while 30 admitted to drinking energy beverages, which are high in sugar.

Due to the incentives given from high ranking schools, the students were also noted to fear the exam results. Fifty-five percent feared that getting bad results would affect the rest of their lives, according to The Telegraph.

Sixty percent of the children claimed that their teachers told the students that each of their performances will affect the entire school.

Sixty-eight percent of them admitted to feeling pressured during the exam proper, while 20 percent were reported to lack concentration due to anxiety. There was about 12 percent who reported having no appetite due to nervousness, and 14 percent said they were hungry while taking the SATs because they skipped meals.

While it is normal for examinees to feel pressure, it is important for them to have a proper meal while preparing for the exams and before taking them.

"A decent breakfast should set children up for success in their exams, and eating breakfast with friends at a breakfast club - and calming each other's nerves about the tests - is a happy way of meeting the challenge to come," said John Coe of the National Association for Primary Education, noting that the findings reflect a more intensive pressure among the last year's SAT examinees.

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