<p>Just out of curiosty what are all of your policies on ur children's studies in school? Do you all get vert upset when they dont do well, or r u more laid back thinking that as long as they try its ok?</p>
<p>I expect my kids to perform to the best of their abilities. Since both are gifted, I have high expectations. Thankfully, they gladly meet them.</p>
<p>Our dd has always been tougher on herself than we could ever be. When she started high school and began taking honors and AP courses, she vowed she would continue to make nothing but A's. For years, we've told her that she can never disappoint us as long as she does her best. So far, nothing but A's. On her last progress report, I was a bit taken aback when it showed a 'C' in her Government class. She was appalled when she saw it and said it was a mistake. I was a bit concerned, but not terribly surprised ... she has been exhibiting some signs of senioritis and I just figured it had caught up with her. When she got home from school the next day, she said her teacher apologized as she didn't realize she had mistakenly entered the grade for the girl who comes before dd alphabetically. DD's correct grade was an 'A'. We do expect good things from her, but that's because she has made us come to expect that of her.</p>
<p>are your rents getting on your case again shermie?</p>
<p>We don't expect perfection, but we expect 100% effort from our teens. School is their "job" and there is no excuse for not always trying your best.</p>
<p>to go along with shermie's question, how do you allow your kids to balance their social and academic lives? that is to say, if your child is receiving good grades, do you give them more freedom in terms of spending time with friends or not? how much do you control their social lives?</p>
<p>i'm curious to see what the general consensus on this is..</p>
<p>unefleur - my wife and I don't even have a consensus on that...</p>
<p>it depends on your kid-
Mine is getting average grades- and I allow her a lot of time to pursue ECs because I feel that for her- it is very important.
I don't think that more time spent on homework would show payoff in terms of grades- her grades winter term, when she has fewer ECs, aren't higher than the rest of the year when she is more busy.</p>
<p>Daughter who is a senior is taking 4 AP classes this year; she pretty much regulates herself. She HAS to in order to survive! Her boyfriend is also taking the same type of heavy load, so it works out well. They're both very focused kids.</p>
<p>Son who is a sophomore also regulates himself. Between hard classes, lacrosse, and his friends, he likes "down time" to be alone.</p>
<p>Sundays are almost always "family days" around here, where the teens stay home and no one comes over. That works the best for us. Very rarely do we have to curtail their social agenda because they've over-extended themselves. Plus, they both routinely help around the house, clean, do their laundry, etc. The big thing for us is that they ASK us first about going somewhere with friends/boyfriends/girlfriends - they don't TELL us they're going!</p>
<p>My kids regulate themselves. They are very responsible for their school work -- they would rather die than show up for class without an assignment complete and well done. </p>
<p>We don't believe in letting teens have their very own cars (meaning that they can just "get up and go" anytime they feel like it (without asking or saying where they are going). </p>
<p>I like "coloradomom's" idea of having Sunday be a family day -- we may try it. Altho I would allow a girlfriend to come over for dinner (we have boys) - but not for them to go "out" and be away from the family. (I like having "fun time" with my boys' girlfriends and also their "guy friends" -- we play cards, games, watch a DVD, etc -- it's a great way to "get to know them.")</p>