All the best for your boards

NEW DELHI: It''s not just another manicMonday. More than 9.5 lakh students will appear for the Central Board ofSecondary Education (CBSE) examinations, the first test in a monthlongmarathon.While the Class XII exams kick off with physics, Class Xexams begin with ''lighter'' subjects like Portuguese, Spanish, and home science.The first Class X biggie, social science, is on March 3.With examsfinally here, it seems parents are more anxious than the students. Psychiatristssay they have been receiving a number of calls from concerned parents seekingadvice on how to handle their children — and at times, eventhemselves."Parents have been coming to us with a wide range ofqueries. Common areas of concern include how to deal with an irritable child,and last-minute jitters," says consulting psychiatrist Jitendra Nagpal.While general concern among parents is natural, experts say thathis/her family''s constant obsession with exams can make a student moretense."Recently, we received a case in which the student simplyrefused to take the exam out of extreme anxiety. One of the main reasons was thehype created by his family over Board exams," says consulting psychiatrist SamirParikh.