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The society that we live in has high regard for academic excellence. Those who fail to meet up to the expectations often face harsh criticism which creates self-doubts about their abilities and intelligence. With a cut-throat competitive world out there, Students are constantly pushed to the edge by their parents to build a bright future and succeed in life. However, the enormous pressure on the students not only hinders their growth and learning but leads to increased stress and anxiety.

The situation is further aggravated by the educational system of the country where instead of facilitating a child's growth and development, the entire focus remains on performance in the exams. Growing expectations of parents coupled with academic pressure has led to increased stress levels in today's students are leaving them vulnerable to severe depression and suicidal tendencies.
Parental pressure on students
The future of a child is the biggest concern to a parent. Since the educational institutes in our country are always on the lookout for the brightest and best students to maintain their reputation, parents feel compelled to raise the bar too high for their students to match up to the standards. Parents nowadays are too concerned about how the world would perceive their students which in turn results in parental pressure.

The idea of excellence and success is often generalised by parents based on how others are performing. Apart from academics, children are also bogged down by rising expectations in various areas where they have their own interests like sports, music, arts, etc. Hence, without giving care to the wholesome development of a student, parents keep on pushing the boundaries that ultimately leads to stress, disappointment, anxiety and suicides. In a study conducted on 190 students from grade 11 to 12 from 3 private schools in Kolkata and 3 government-aided schools, it was found out that almost two-thirds of the students experienced pressure from their parents to perform better academically.

Academic stress

The school education system in India is textbook oriented where the focus remains on systematic long hours of study every day and rote memorisation. The elaborate study routines leave little time for recreation and socialisation. On top of that, there is high competition against peers to perform better and outscore. From school-level to high school life to getting admission to tertiary institutions, students experience academic stress every step of their way. Undeniably, the constant academic stress takes a toll on the mental health of the students. In 2018, there were 1.3 lakh suicides in the country out of which eight percent were accounted for students.

What can be done to limit stress among students?
As students spend most of their time in classrooms, teachers can play a useful role in mitigating the stress affecting them. Here's how:

Teachers can educate their students about the importance of time management that can considerably reduce stress. They should allow flexible due dates to submit the assignments. Not only will this reduce stress but also keep them motivated to deliver their work

Teachers should acknowledge the effort of every student instead of discouraging them

Teachers should put in the effort to encourage laughter and humour in the classroom. At times, they can share incidences related to their own childhood with the students to strengthen the bond

Lessons should aim to create a deeper level of understanding instead of burdening the students with figures and facts

Similar to teachers, parents have a key role to play in reducing the stress among the students. Here's how:

Parents should instigate positive thinking and good lifestyle habits in students. A healthy lifestyle coupled with good eating and sleeping habits can considerably reduce stress

Be it in academics, sports or any other area, parents should always embrace a child's imperfections and mistakes. They need to teach their children that failure is part of success

If a student is experiencing fear or anxiety, parents should take the time to talk and address the concerns

Parents should always make it a point to focus on the good aspects and positive attributes of the student

In this age where a decimal point can be a deciding factor in one's life, there is a dire need to address the issues of parenting expectations and academic stress. We must work as a cohesive unit to conduct deeper analysis and wider studies to understand the obstacles and devise specific plans to reduce the burden on the youngsters.
- Article by Prakriti Poddar, Global Head for Mental Health at Round Glass, Managing Trustee Poddar Foundation
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Parent's expectations and academic pressure: A major cause of stress among students

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As students spend most of their time in classrooms, teachers can play a useful role in mitigating the stress affecting them. Here's all you need to know from the expert!

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1: Extreme levels of stress can hinder work effectiveness and lead to poor academic performance and attrition
2: 6 in 10 college students report having felt so stressed they couldn’t get their work done on one or more
3: 55% of students, nationally, claimed their biggest stressor to be academic in nature.

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1:  Parents nowadays are too concerned about how the world would perceive their students which in turn results in parental pressure.
2: A 2013 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 64% of Americans say parents do not put enough pressure on children to do well in school
3: Students are constantly pushed to the edge by their parents to build a bright future and succeed in life. However, the enormous pressure on the students not only hinders their growth and learning but leads to increased stress and anxiety.

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1: Failure on big tests suggests to anxious students that growth is unattainable, and that it’s easier to give up.
2: 70 percent of teens say anxiety and depression is a "major problem" among their peers,
3: This behavior is having a harmful impact on student stress, depression and anxiety

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Pressure to do well at school has been shown to increase stress and anxiety in students, leading to poorer physical, social and emotional health. Students can feel pressure from their parents, school, teachers, society or themselves to achieve higher grades and academic success.

Recognising the signs of stress and anxiety in our students, helping them to develop practical coping skills, working in partnership with parents, reinforcing the importance of balance, and establishing realistic expectations are all helpful approaches schools can take to support students who feel pressure to do well academically.

Top tips for supporting your students

Set clear and realistic expectations for class work, exams and assessments. Share help-seeking strategies students can use if they feel overwhelmed.

Remind your students that a growth mindset, where failure is seen as an opportunity for growth and learning, is a key aspect of success in secondary school.

Share with your students practical self-management strategies they can use to manage stress and anxiety, such as breathing and minfulness exercises, positive self-talk and practising gratitude. ReachOut.com has lots of helpful ideas to get them started.

Provide opportunities for your students to set realistic and achievable short-, medium- and long-term learning goals. Involving parents in this process can help align their expectations with their child's.

Have open and honest conversations with your students around managing school work and study stress. Developing effective structures around time management, study and exam pressure early on in secondary school can make a big difference to students' long-term wellbeing. Check out the following resources to share with students for ideas.

Classroom activities

One of the body's reactions to fear, stress and anxiety is muscle tension. Feeling 'tense' can produce muscle aches and pains, and may leave some people feeling exhausted. This exercise uses progressive muscle relaxation to help students notice, release and manage muscle tension and reduce stress.

Sometimes students can't explain how they are feeling. Using a continuum removes the pressure and enables students to convey visually how they are coping.

It's essential for students to be able to identify their emotional experiences and to control their emotional responses to external events. Being able to cope with difficult situations and to assess different responses enables them to move forward.

When students learn to look after themselves, it builds their self-confidence and helps them to focus more on the positive things in their life. There are some steps students can take to encourage the habit of self-care.

Self-care doesn't have to be expensive. This activity provides students with an opportunity to discuss different low-cost ways to chill out, and provides teachers with ways to create self-care opportunities for students at school.

Resources for students

ReachOut works with young people across Australia to develop content. You could share some of these resources with your students.

Studying means managing a bunch of competing deadlines. It can be overwhelming and sometimes may feel impossible. Learn more about developing strategies for planning your time that will help you to stay calm, organised and on top of everything.

Explore these 5 apps to help you manage with school.

ReachOut did the homework on studying so you don't have to. Learn more about ReachOut's scientifically proven steps to study success.

Sometimes it feels like the list of things we need to get done is never-ending. It's really easy just to neglect, or straight out forget about, some of the stuff that needs doing. ReachOut's handy tool will point you in the right direction and help you to get stuff done.

Resources for parents and carers

ReachOut works with parents across Australia to develop content that helps them to support their young person. You could share some of these resources with your parent community.

Your child may feel under pressure to perform well in exams, maintain a healthy social life, and start making tricky decisions about the rest of their life. It's normal for teenagers to go through rough patches at school, but if you're worried about your child, there are things that you can do to help.

There's so much expectation around exam results. Take ReachOut's quick 10-question quiz to find out if you and your teen are on the same page, and what you can do to make things easier for you both at results time.

Exam stress, results and what happens next can sometimes seem overwhelming for parents and teenagers alike. Get ideas and tips, and hear from others about what they did to support their teenagers through exam stress.

It's never too early or too late to learn how to teach your child coping skills and to help them put these skills into action. It's a good skill for life.

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Pressure to do well at school has been shown to increase stress and anxiety in students, leading to poorer physical, social and emotional health. Students can feel pressure from their parents, school, teachers, society or themselves to achieve higher grades and academic success.

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1: Pressure to do well at school has been shown to increase stress and anxiety in students, leading to poorer physical, social and emotional health. Students can feel pressure from their teachers to achieve higher grades and academic success.
2: Students should ask for opportunities s they can set realistic and achievable short-, medium- and long-term learning goals.
3: