The helplines for CBSE schools have found a lot of takers not only among students but also among the parents.

With the board exams having already kickstarted, the helplines have registered a number of calls from anxious parents.

Experts agreed that parents too need counselling ahead of exams on how to guide children without stressing them out. "Parents need more help on how to prepare their child for exams as well as support them," Dr Srinivasa Murthy, counsellor, CBSE helpline said.

"We have been getting more calls from parents rather than students regarding exams. They have been seeking tips to help their child perform better," said Suresh Raju KA, counsellor, Vishwas Society for Mental Health, which operates another free helpline.

Most calls from students focus on queries as to how they can cope with family expectations. "Girls call more than boys to talk about their exam fears. The queries are about issues like parental pressures, feeling of anxiousness and forgetfulness. I have got a few parents and children coming in person for counselling too," said Dr Srinivasa Murthy.

Counsellors have often had to mediate between parents and children when discussions turn into arguments regarding issues like children spending too much time on the phone or watching TV.

"I had a mother and daughter duo who had called me and they kept arguing about how much time one needs to put in for preparing during exams. They had put the speaker phone on. I had to ask the mother to take me off the speaker phone to talk and reason with her daughter," said Sneh Preet Sial, principal, Delhi Public School, counsellor for the CBSE helpline.

Students agreed that the tips on dealing with exam-stress given on the CBSE website are useful.

"I had heard about the helpline. I had gone online to check the sample question papers, but I found that the website even gave information on how we can best prepare for exams without getting stressed," said Havishya S, a 10th standard student.

Jayalakshmi Venugopal/ DNA-Daily News & Analysis Source: 3D Syndication