You and your child during the days of tests

How hard the days of tests are! Many families raise the degree of tension to the highest and declare the state of emergency at home. The main objective is to force a child to sit at his desk and does not leave except in critical conditions, such as having food, relieving itself, or going to a private lesson. I have seen with my own eyes a mother who was hit by irritable bowel syndrome during the days of her daughter's tests and a father who cannot sleep out of worry and fear!

Money is spent and nerves get strained during these days, in a time no one has been engaged in the values gained and information that will remain in the child's troubled mind after the end of tests and receiving of certificates. The result will be children get scientific degrees on paper after that effort and money; is it possible that tests would mean something else to ourselves, our children, and to the entire nation?

In the beginning, we should be convinced of the true value of knowledge. Knowledge is an instrument to recognize the universe then recognizing the Creator of this great universe (Glory be to Him).

The glorification, which a learned person declares from the bottom of its heart, is different from the glorification which an ignorant utters without knowledge. "Whoever follows a way to seek knowledge, Allah will make easy for him a way to paradise. Indeed, angels place their wings to the knowledge seeker out of content with what he has been doing. Verily, those who are in heavens and on earth seek forgiveness to scholars and even whales in water. The excellence of a scholar over a worshipper like the excellence of moon over all planets. Indeed, scholars are the heirs of prophets and scholars did not leave a dinar or a dirham, but they left knowledge. So, whoever takes it, will be of the fortunate." A child should learn first then get certificates.

Desire for learning should be lit in the heart of a child instead of stirring the desire of competition. Although competition is required for encouragement at some point, in some environments, competitions can reach the degree of envy and hatred among children.

A child must realize that cheating is something nasty, which is not an opportunity but a test and trial.

A Muslim family is quiet, manage its job well, and depend on Allah (Glory be to Him), therefore, during the days of tests it keens for the following:

• Child's performance of Salah in its proper time in the masjid.

• A child's Recitation of his daily portion of the Quran.

• Taking into account the child's age in determining the studying and the resting hours. A young child studies half an hour and takes a rest for an hour, whereas the older child studies half an hour and takes a rest for another half an hour studies half an hour and resting half an hour, and the eldest studies for one hour and takes a rest for a quarter of an hour, and so on.

• Prevention of distractions that impede the child's focus; the desk should have nothing but the subject which a child will study. Quietness should prevail in the house, so there is no need for family visits during the days of tests, moreover, younger children should play away from the studying child.

• Give the child a part-time to explain some difficult points and revision, noting that communicating with the child by all means: by looking into his eyes when explaining a matter and taking care of the voice tone so as to draw his attention. It is also possible to repeat the words more than once to increase his understanding. It is important to touch his head or his hand to increase his attention and giving it the feeling of kindness.

Furthermore, you can give it touchable shapes in order to remember the information easily. It is also useful to train the child for tests, make it live the atmosphere of tests, and solve many questions.

• It is important to care for the nutrition and food of the child, not only during the days of tests, but you should put a healthy nutrition system for the child if we want a healthy and active child. Scientific studies have proven that balanced nutrition, which includes basic vitamins, raises intelligence rates, whereas the children who have intelligence inherited from their parents lose their intelligence because they did not receive enough nutrition. Those children also are exposed to become more aggressive and less focused.

The problem is that we spend a lot of money on food, but often it is not healthy because canned foods and the junk foods which are expensive do not meet the minimum requirements of nutrition needs for children.

Some families pay attention to this matter during the days of tests, which is not enough because the mind grows fast those days, but it is a good initiation that we should encourage to continue. So, our responsibilities are to provide healthy food for our children in order to lead a balanced smart life.

• A child does not need nutrition for his body only but also the emotional nutrition which is more important. A child needs to satisfy his emotions of love and compassion, he needs the word (I love you), he needs a caring touch, support, and confidence, which he needs not only during the days of tests, but all the time.

• The days of tests are a wonderful opportunity to teach a child how to resort to Allah (Glory be to Him) by supplication and seeking His Help in facilitating study, recalling the information, and agility. We should teach it to pursuit the lawful means then rely on Allah and teach it how to resort to Allah.

It is beautiful to teach it the morning and evening Adhkar (supplications to be said in the morning and in the evening) at that time! What a beautiful for a child to repeat every morning and every night the following invocation: "Allah is sufficient for me. There is no god but He, upon Him I put my trust because He is the Lord of the Great Throne," certainly a child will feel it differently these days.

These hard times, I mean the days of tests, may be a great opportunity to revise our educational policy, so let us benefit from.