Eighth grade is tough, I know. We were all there once, and for some of us, once a long, long time ago. Kids these days are worried about a lot. Basketball, keeping grades good in six classes, getting two hours of homework done each night, having to make time on the weekend for things other than projects and homework, talk with friends, and play video games each night to mix it all up.
Well, the other day, Daniel-son brought home a D on his midterm exam. That’s a 66 to be more accurate. If this had been some little quiz or homework assignment, he would have gotten off with a small lecture at dinner. But this was a test, and clearly something was wrong. Over the past weeks, D-for-Daniel’s grades had been dropping from consistently high A’s and B’s to consistently lower C’s and D’s. The test was not a standalone incident.
This is what we decided at dinner. Daniel was to have all of his video games taken away for two weeks. At the end of two weeks, if his grades improved, we would allow him only to play one hour per night on weeknights. Like any good gamer, he whined and complained and tried the guilt trip and told us he was depriving him of his only source of joy. We told him that all of this complaining was a sign of addiction. He adamantly disagreed, but scaled back on the whining.
Instead, he turned very lawerly, and started defending his right to play video games. He told us it would not happen again, and gave us several pretty good reasons why he needed to keep at least one or two of his favorite games. At that point, as weak parents, we felt that we were a bit harsh on him. That does not mean, however, that he got the games back. We compromised, and Daniel was allowed to keep Guitar Hero and Madden NFL ‘o8, provided that he only play after all of his homework was done.
It happens sometimes..a lean phase can come. I remember..it happened to me when i was in 9th grade. It gave me a reality check and i bounced back and scored high marks..
Yes, if it were an isolated incident, we wouldn’t have reacted in the same way. However, since there’s been a string of bad grades lately, we felt that he needed a swift kick in the butt!
It seems to be working too; on his last Geometry test, he got an A, and in science, he got a B-plus on a quiz. On Tuesday there’s an English test. We’re planning to return some of his video games if he gets at least a B plus.
Or maybe he just read this post and decided that he’d rather not be publicly humiliated again!
Hmmm…parenting is a tough job. I am glad i am young..but my time will definitely come!