Nice things to do to support during GCSEs

[FoxandDuck]

DC1 is about to start GCSEs. She’s quite clever & hard working which will make life easier in the next few weeks in some ways but she also puts lot of pressure on herself so I want to do what I can to help reduce stress levels. My concern is that we’re not close and so, when there is an issue, it takes a while for her to tell me. I expect that, however she has found a particular paper, all I will get told is “fine”. If I ask her if she needs anything, all I tend to get is “no”.
Given this, what nice gestures and things can I do to help? I have made sure all of her hair & beauty stuff is stocked up and got spares in (fortunately she’s quite happy with supermarket ranges so this wasn’t too expensive!); we’ve got so much stationery that I think it might last a lifetime; I’ll make sure we’ve got plenty of her favourite food & drinks in; I’ve re-jigged my work a bit so I’ll take her to school on each of the days she has a morning exam rather than her have to get the school bus as then she doesn’t have to worry about that being late.
What are you doing for your DC?

It sounds like you have already done lots to help her with practical and helpful stuff. The snacks , beauty stuff , stationary ( can never have enough when you are revising !) and lifts to ease stress about being late are all really thoughtful. As your relationship doesn’t sound super close in terms of deep conversations about her studies etc. just carry on as you normally would in terms of asking questions and accepting her answer. Now is not the time to suddenly start pushing for meaningful conversations that will stress her out - exactly what you are trying to avoid. Just let her know you are there if she wants to chat , keep an eye on her , but keep the routine as it usually is and cut her some slack if she does get a bit snappy , decides to stay up a bit later or doesn’t want to eat meals you have cooked but prefers snacking.

you sound like a really thoughtful mum and are being very supportive. Make sure you keep plentiful supplies of her favourite snacks in and ask if there is anything else she would like as sometimes she might fancy something different. I know when I was studying I always wanted to eat Revels and still do now when studying ( in my late 50’s) never eat them any other time !

What you’ve organised sounds great, and very thoughtful.

My DS took his GCSEs last year, also highly intelligent and worked hard without being asked. However, when it comes to making his own food he’s very lazy. I said for the 3 months he was on study leave plus exams I would happily be his servant. Just tell me when he’d like to eat and I’ll prepare a cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner (always did dinner for him anyway). My god did he take this offer up! He loved me being at his beck and call.

Is there anything your DD isn’t keen on doing, that you could offer to do during exam season?

I also got in touch with a few parents to arrange a surprise ‘paint balling’ event to celebrate the end of their exams. We all chipped in for pizza, drinks and a huge cake. A few turned into 33 surprised boys. They were so chuffed to be doing something fun finally and were so happy with us parents for making the effort for them.

I made muffins regularly so DD always had something nice to eat straight after an exam, as she doesn’t like eating breakfast. I also bought some little presents like hair clips and key rings that I gave her during exam season.

Blimey I didn’t do anything special for mine! Well one didn’t do theirs (covid) but the other did.
Always have a home cooked meal in the evening but they’re gcse’s, everyone does them, being at their beck and call making breakfast lunch and snacks for 3 months because they’re doing something that everyone does - seems like overkill. I mean it’s really nice of you of course! But studying isn’t so intensive they can’t take half an hour to prepare food, and they should be taking regular breaks from studying anyway.
We also didn’t place an emphasis on OTT studying either, if they wanted to do it they did, if they didn’t that was on them. Same approach we took towards homework all through secondary, and into college. If they didn’t do it, they faced the consequences. Oldest one is now home from uni and working, middle one is currently there and doing well.