Dr Navkiran Mahajan, associate professor with department of psychiatry at DMCH, said a prime problem is that parents have high expectations and even if they voice nothing to suggest that they are a harried lot due to the child, often, it so happens that he himself assumes that is indeed the case.

Mahajan said off and on, parents cite problems like the child losing sleep or him not eating properly. She recommends not pushing the kid to the edge as every child has one inherent talent or another. It is important for parents to understand there is life beyond scores, she added.

And such problems are not confined to board exams. A few days back, it was reported that a class VII student was not eating properly and was losing consciousness. After counselling, it was found that the child was not able to perform well in the house exams and the fear of his parents getting to cite poor marks obtained in the exams was the main reason for such behaviour, said Dr Naresh Bansal, consultant in psychiatry at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, adding one could imagine well fate of students appearing for the boards. He further said when they go in for consultation, parents tend to deny they are putting any sort of pressure on the child, but every parent wants his child to excel in the class.

Nandini Sharma (name changed), a worried mother whose daughter is appearing for her class 10 exam and has come to a city private hospital, said the marks scored in the exam would play a key role in deciding the course of the child's future. The marks would decide which stream she would go in for. The stress level is so high that every second day, she has a headache, she added. During her pre-boards, she has stopped eating, which is a cause of worry.