It's not easy being a student.

School- One word, six letters, millions of memories, thousands of mistakes, hundreds of stories, zero regrets. infinitive love, care, and happiness.

Today's children or students are facing myriad challenges and problems. This can impact hugely and significantly on their mental, physical, and emotional health. The reasons are for these difficulties not difficult to find. 

These shape their life by various factors such as geography, cultural and family background, and socioeconomic background. Most of the children face bullying, distractions, mental health, and academic issues, excessive screen time, and malnutrition. 

All this makes them very vulnerable and in some cases, they start hating the school. All parents should tackle these sensitive issues very calmly and with a lot of patience and maturity.

Let us discuss some of the problems faced by students.

1. Bullying. 

Bullying continues to be a huge issue in spite of several warnings against this by authorities. Children are bullied for various reasons. like, not studying well, physical abnormalities like being too fat or too thin, Being poor, and many other reasons. 

This makes the children lose their self-esteem and self-confidence. This pushes the students into the shell. They stop being friendly with other children, start hating school, and may face some mental health issues. 

This can reduce their focus on studies and get distracted by other unnecessary things. 

How to prevent this problem?

Actually, bullying happens everywhere. Let us agree that it gives tremendous pain and hurt to the receiver. As a parent and a teacher, this problem has to be tackled very sensitively. 

The school environment has to be positive. This helps in developing a healthy place for students. No student should feel scared, or unsafe in school. 

Teach children kindness and empathy. Kindness makes the student more helpful to other students and empathy teaches them to put themselves in someone else's shoes.

As a teacher, create opportunities for a positive connection with each child. Research shows that when targeted students feel connected to their peers, they are better able to cope with being bullied.

Studies prove that any art form can help young children see situations from different angles or perspectives. Rewarding positive behavior can also help children understand the importance of not bullying anyone.

Keep in mind that both- the receiver and the bulliver should not be biased. Be kind to both of them and create a healthy and positive environment in school.

2. Excessive technology use.

Smartphones, tablets, and computers can hold anyone's attention for a longer time. This reduces the child's attention on studies and even school. This can also lead to eyestrain such as blurred vision and dry eyes. 

Studies show that children who overuse technology may be more likely to suffer from mental health issues. Overuse of technology also has negative effects like lack of attention in school subjects, low creativity, and delays in language learning. 

It also results in a delay in social and emotional development and it may become an addiction. Apart from the negative effects and cognitive of excessive use of the internet may create a higher risk of falling into depression and anxiety.

How to overcome this problem?

It's nearly impossible and impractical to remove technology completely from a child's life. But some rules and moderation should be applied to stop the negative effects of too much use. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics (APA) recommends an age limit for screen time.

Younger than 18 months, completely avoid screen time.

18 to 24 months, high-quality programs but with parents monitoring.

2 to 5 years, one hour per day, supervised by either of the parents.

6 years and above place consistent time and types of programs they watch.

Most of the parents give the phone or other screen to watch because they themselves are busy with their own screen time. Set a time for yourself and also for your child for screen time. Be a role model. 

3. Peer pressure.

This is also a big problem for students. Children should have friends but not the kind who boss over and in turn make the other child timid and force them to follow their own wish.

There are advantages and disadvantages of peer. Negative peer pressure can lead to mental, physical, and emotional health. The child may go into a shell and a kind of inferiority complex sets in.

It may lead to poor academic performance and the child may lose self-confidence and his/her self-esteem hits the lowest level. 

Of course, there are some advantages of peer pressure. The pressure of studying hard can lead to good academic performance.

The peer pressure occurs in classes from maybe 7th or 8th. Students themselves can handle any kind of negative peer pressure.

Children themselves should pay attention to how they feel. If they feel something doesn't gel with him/her then do not do it. Talk to your parents and seek help if needed. Do not hesitate to say NO if the need arises.

You don't need to be a people pleaser. Believe in your abilities and do what you want from your life. Do not be pressured by your friends. 

4. Too many distractions.

There are so many gadgets and external stimuli these days that it's natural to get distracted. Social media, friends, smartphones, television, video games, and parties with friends play havoc on student's ability to concentrate and focus on their studies.

Students should change the study environment if they feel their productivity is suffering because of unnecessary distractions. Create the right environment so that you do not have much distraction to take away your attention from your studies. 

How can it be prevented?

"Where there is a will, there is a way" is an old saying. You have to be determined to plan screen time and other distractions and stick to it. 

Installing a browser app that stops you from going on Facebook, or other sites for a certain period of time. Education is a very important aspect of everyone's life. So, understand the value of knowledge and wisdom and try to focus on your studies.

Parents have to be strict about this and monitor their children's activities.

5. Not remembering facts and figures.

This is a very common problem with students of all standards. Their complaint is how much they try to remember this, they are not able to do it. 

Their complaint is especially for maths formulas, physics formulas, History figures and facts, and so on. This is a genuine problem. This leads to an inability to answer exam questions effectively and correctly.

This is an extremely familiar problem. 

 The best way to tackle this problem is daily revision. I have observed students studying at the last moment and facing tremendous stress. Daily spending at least two hours regularly can help. 

Make a realistic schedule and meticulously stick to it. I have seen students paying attention in class and coming out with flying colors in their exams. They are proof that you don't need tuition or coaching classes to pass the exams.

Take your teachers and classes seriously and I am sure you will have less stress and tension.

6. Time management.

Any level of study involves effective and efficient time management. Time management is one of the major problems of today's students. 

Their days are cramped with school, coaching classes, tuition classes, and other activities like karate class, music class, guitar class, and so on. Children get tired of all these classes along with school work. Time management is one of the most crucial but tricky skills for anybody to master. 

To some extent, you can manage your time effectively. Make a calendar where you can note down all your important deadlines, exams, special classes, and other commitments in advance to avoid stress. 

Keep your calendar where c you can see it daily and know what you have to do. remember time plays an important role in your life so be alert about it.

7. Students feel low motivation.

This is also one of the most common problems among students. You yourself should have the sufficient internal drive to achieve good results and become successful.

Try to find out the reasons behind your low motivation. There can be many results. You think that you have something more interesting to do, you don't like the particular subject teacher, You are stressed out, You are not in the best of health- The reason may be any but you have to tackle these problems in a calm and practical way.

You cannot have everything that you like. Somewhere you have to adjust and adapt to the situation. For smaller children, parents can help out and bring them to love their school and studies.

8 Children fall prey to anxiety or depression.

The young generation of students fall into anxiety and depression. Every school has counselors and this the proof that students have mental stress. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in seven (14%) 10 to 19-year-olds experience mental health conditions. 

During this time students feel helpless, worthless, and uncertain. So it puts a tremendous burden and stress on them. 

Seeking help from parents and friends can help in reducing this condition. Setting healthy boundaries, changing lifestyle to positive habits, and meditation can help.

9. Exam pressure on students.

Throughout their student life children are bogged down by fear of exams. Parents add fuel to the fire by expecting their child to score first rank or highest marks. This puts tremendous pressure on them. 

This causes a huge physical, mental, and emotional burden on them and they cannot enjoy their school or college life. The pressure is not only from parents but also from teachers, society, and their peers otherwise they become buts of jokes.

The parents and teachers play a great role in easing this burden. Do not compare your child to other children. Each child has their own way to study and everyone cannot come first. See to it that your child learns discipline, kindness, compassion, obedience, politeness, and humbleness. 

These qualities are more important in life. Never pressure the children about their marks and grades. Let them enjoy their student life.

10. Parental pressure.

Many of the parents still have the age-old concepts that they think for success. One of them was a first rank or more than 90% marks. They think that this is the only way they can get a good job and make their future secure. And in the process, they kill their child's dreams.

This thinking has to be changed. The time is for more skill-based knowledge. Patents have to understand that marks or first grade have nothing to do with success. 

There are many examples where people have followed their passion and made a huge name, fame, and success in their chosen field even though they have their education halfway.

Every parent and child has to understand that the child must have drive, grit, willpower, and determination to follow their dreams. Hard work, smart work, dedication, and discipline play a major role in achieving your dreams.

Most importantly, let the child chase his/her dreams. Never, ever, pressure your child to do what you want them to become.

11. Outdated syllabus.

Today's children do not relate to their syllabus which is outdated. The time is a lot of technological and scientific advancements are taking place. 

So, the syllabus and course materials have to be updated to develop the child's knowledge otherwise they will feel inferior and lose interest, and self-confidence. 

This step has to be taken by educationists who prepare syllabi and course material. 

Bottomline.

Student life should be the happiest and most enjoyable phase of every child. Before becoming a student they are toddlers where they are completely dependent on their parents. 

After they finish their education, they are thrown into the sea and they have to learn a hard way to swim. The best phase is being a student. Let us try to make this phase the most memorable and the best period of their life.

 Preeti Bhandary, a parenting expert and co-founder of Little Elly says, "To address these pressing challenges, a collaborative and multi-pronged approach is essential. Parents, educators, legislators, and society as a whole must work in unison to ensure the well-being of children".

(Share the post with as many students and parents as you know.)