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Moms Talk Q&A: Helping Kids with the PSSAs

How do we emphasize the importance of standardized tests without stressing out our children?

Welcome back to Moms Talk, where each week, our Moms Council of experts and smart parents take your questions, give advice and share solutions.

Moms, dads, grandparents and the diverse families who make up our community have a new resource for questions about local neighborhood schools, the best pediatricians, 24-hour pharmacies and the thousands of other issues that arise while raising children.

Moms Talk is also the place to drop in to talk about the latest parenting hot topic. Do you know of local moms raising their children in the "Tiger Mother's" way and is it the best way? Where can we get information on local flu shot clinics for children? How do we talk to our children about the Tucson shootings? How can we help our children's schools weather their budget cutbacks?

Find out what's happening in Levittownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

If you have a question that you want to discuss here, just drop us an e-mail.

So grab a cup of coffee and settle in as we start the conversation today with a question from a Levittown-area mom:

Find out what's happening in Levittownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

We got a call from our school about our kids taking the PSSAs this week. I found the recorded message a little unsettling.

On one hand, we were told how important this test is for our kids. On the other hand, we're told that we should be encouraging. Now I'm worried that either I'm going to stress my kid out by making too big a deal out of it or going too far in the other direction by not making sure they are prepared. How do we balance that?

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