Erum Shakeel, Class X student of MGD, who wants to become a fighter pilot, is being monitored round-the-clock by her mother and elder sister Amrin Jabin.“She has been studying for 12-15 hours for the last two months. After she stopped socializing with friends, I decided to take her out every alternate day to keep her away from books and home for some time to cheer her,” said Amrin.

The family makes sure that Erum gets her favorite energy drink and chocó chocolates everyday. Similarly, parents on the advice of counselors, are taking steps to ease exam pressure of their wards. They are allowing them to spend time with friends and to play.

Joseph Rozario for the past fortnight has allowed her daughter, studying in class XII, to meet friends once a week.. “The cut-throat competition among students is overburdening them. When I noticed some changes in the behaviour of my daughter I insisted she goes out and play for some time,” said Rozario.

Scared by the rising number of suicides many parents have make sure that their wards do not lock the room from inside and study. “I have stopped asking my son to study, I think they are mature enough to decide what they have to do,” said Sunder Sahani, a worried parent in Raja Park.

The social networking sites have also acted as a major stress buster. Students having accounts on Facebook and Orkut connect with friends. Komal Sharma, a Class X student, gets the updates on his friends on Facebook. Its acts as a breather. “After six hourof studies I sat on the system and interacted with friends which refresh my body and prepare it for another session,” he said.

S S Nathawat, former head of department, psychology, Rajasthan University said, “During exams parents should give children enough attention to make them feel better and relaxed so that they do not develop symptoms of depression and stress.”