bangalore with board exams around the corner and testrelated stress mounting by the day pets are the latest weapon in the destressing armoury if your child has been studying hard and feels stressed out already its time for some pet therapy this method of keeping kids in good shape is becoming increasingly popular among parents like single parent naveen rolands who was alarmed by his daughter hazels plunging grades i was clueless how to get her back on track and the board exam was fast approaching shed always been a good student and i was forced to come up with a solution said naveen after a counselling session organized by the school naveen found the solution the counsellor suggested we get a dog home although i wasnt initially sold on the idea i wanted to give it a shot i got three dogs home and to my surprise hazels grades improved dramatically and even cleared her board exam with flying colours said naveen parents are slowly warming to the idea of roping in pets to help their kids pushpa bopaiah who runs healing horses an equine therapy programme in the city told toi although the idea is not very popular among parents its surely catching on i came up with my programme to treat differently abled children but now i have three or four parents whose children are under exam pressure said pushpa we advise parents to get a pet home especially during exams it works well with children who have low selfesteem said indraani sudarshan of ebenezer international school anand vishwanath certified canine behaviourist and counsellor says some parents ask me to visit more frequently for reinforcement sessions pets can calm down a child who is under high stress level children feel relaxed after a session with pets so keep bonding with your pet to beat the test