Roughrider
5-Year Member
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2012
- Messages
- 77
One week into the school year, ds, a jr in high school, is up at midnight working on a very substantial AP Physics problem set that he "forgot" to do over Labor Day weekend. (Yesterday he was recovering from dental surgery all day and zonked out on painkillers.)
Dad The Homework Checker is now going to bed, and Boy is on his own. Dad plans on on still getting him up for cross country practice at 6:30 am and dragging his butt to swim practice at 6:45 pm tomorrow.
Mom, who is a much better executive than Dad, is of the opinion that tolerating or enabling this kind of boneheadery is going to lead to more of the same. Note: she is probably right, as this is by no means an isolated incident. We've been in this predicament before, although not usually this early in the year. She believes the situation calls for a "no pass, no play" policy Chez Roughrider, such that if grades hit a certain mark, or Son misses a certain amount of sleep, we put the kibosh on extracurriculars until he gets straightened out.
Dad's thinking the kid is seventeen years old -- too old for a bedtime -- and should know by now how many hours there are in a day. A day of sleep deprivation, leading to poor practice performance, and/or a crummy grade tanking his eligibility, and a couple of good chewings-out from his coaches, ought to serve as natural consequences and make the point about time management. And if Parents are suffering, there is no rule that says we have to do it quietly, which might drive that point home further. One further point, Son has made commitments to his teams that deserve consideration.
Opinions?
Dad The Homework Checker is now going to bed, and Boy is on his own. Dad plans on on still getting him up for cross country practice at 6:30 am and dragging his butt to swim practice at 6:45 pm tomorrow.
Mom, who is a much better executive than Dad, is of the opinion that tolerating or enabling this kind of boneheadery is going to lead to more of the same. Note: she is probably right, as this is by no means an isolated incident. We've been in this predicament before, although not usually this early in the year. She believes the situation calls for a "no pass, no play" policy Chez Roughrider, such that if grades hit a certain mark, or Son misses a certain amount of sleep, we put the kibosh on extracurriculars until he gets straightened out.
Dad's thinking the kid is seventeen years old -- too old for a bedtime -- and should know by now how many hours there are in a day. A day of sleep deprivation, leading to poor practice performance, and/or a crummy grade tanking his eligibility, and a couple of good chewings-out from his coaches, ought to serve as natural consequences and make the point about time management. And if Parents are suffering, there is no rule that says we have to do it quietly, which might drive that point home further. One further point, Son has made commitments to his teams that deserve consideration.
Opinions?