Stop Mobile Phones from Sabotaging Your Child’s Revision

With GCSE and A-Level exams just around the corner, many students will be starting revision to achieve their target grades. However, mobile phones have become the main source of revision sabotage which will lead to many students failing to achieve them. Below are some tips that can help you in saving your child from this sabotage:

Don’t Nag

This is the time to be supportive rather than add to your child’s stress levels. Have a friendly conversation to make him understand how these next few weeks will determine the rest of his life.

Make Them Look Ahead

Ask him to think ahead. How will he feel on the night before the first exam; fully prepared, relaxed and ready to get an early night? Or will he have large revision gaps because he ran out of time due to interruptions from social media, YouTube and Netflix, leading him to stay up until the early hours in a futile effort to cram in many weeks of revision? Is sacrificing great grades – leading to a great career – by the temporary gratification received from the mobile phone really worth it?

Set Some Rules

Agreeing on rules on mobile phone usage and setting limits is critical. Here are some examples of what you can agree with your child:

• Keep the phone switched off and in a different room during revision sessions to stop the temptation of reaching for it every five minutes.

• Turn off notifications from WhatsApp, Snapchat and other social media applications to stop their constant disruption.

• Check for messages only during planned breaks.

• No mobile phone usage an hour before bedtime.

• Keep the phone downstairs during the night to ensure a good night’s sleep to be refreshed and ready for the following day.

Lead by Example

Be a role model and implement the agreed rules on yourself. Not only will this give you time to be more productive, it will show support for your child and help in consolidating these phone habits for future exam seasons.