Are we “testing” our children too much?

There are lots and lots of exams and tests that children take all throughout schools. But we are not talking about that here. We are talking about what we as parents do with our children.  A test need not always be in the written form or in a formal set-up. So then what is a test? Is it a way to find out what a child doesn’t know or what he knows? 

We often test our children when we ask, “Do you know the names of all the continents in the world?”  instead of saying ” Let us talk about continents!”.
 
Would a child be happy and eager to be tested if the tests only exposed their ignorance or shortcomings? Would the child see the test as a fun activity or a stressful one? In fact, they begin to associate the ‘whole’ act of asking questions with the ‘act’ of testing rather than a ‘fun’ way to learn and explore. Which is the sad part :(.
 
While a certain amount of testing is definitely needed to evaluate, motivate and challenge the child, if we want them to learn more – there other ways to do so:

• Provide opportunities for the child to showcase what he/she already knows
• Engage him/her with new challenges in a positive environment to make learning fun
• Be encouraging and supportive in both cases

Do share with us other ways to make learning enjoyable for children.

Contributed by Anubha Jain, currently a learning facilitator with Sparkling Mindz. She is an MBA graduate from a premier institute and an Engineer prior to that. She also has several years of corporate experience under her belt. She has chosen to shift her career to work with children.