My Teenager Makes Me Laugh

Sometimes I have to laugh to keep from crying. My 14yr old daughter is quite a character. It's report card time and her grades are not where they should be. They're not awful--not even close--but they could be A LOT better. As her mom, it's my responsibility to curb her behavior and/or activities with some type of punishment, right? Of course, I'm right. My daughter, however, is under the impression that since they are HER grades and it's HER future that's going to be effected by how well she does in school that I shouldn't bother putting her on ANY kind of punishment. "I've got it under control", she says.

What's funny is how dead serious she is! She was in tears when we had this discussion a couple of months ago when I was implementing phone times for her during the week. "As long as I get my homework done, I don't see why it should matter to you when I get it done."

I swear these are her exact words! She has the nerve to use my own words against me. I've always told her that her getting a good education is for her benefit, not mine, "So don't go asking me to reward you monetarily for good grades," I would say. In my mind, that DOES NOT translate into "I don't care what you do because it's your future and not mine." Every now and then I have to make it plain to her that I am the mother and that I run the show!

Anyway, it's report card day and I already sense that it's going to be one of those moments. Her grades are not where they should be. She was so excited about being in high school, I think she jumped too quickly into extracurricular activities, even though that's recommended by the school. So I'm thinking the best thing to do is to pull her from some of those activities (she joined like 3 clubs, maybe just allow her to participate in one until the grades get where they need to be. While you and I know that's not a bad punishment--if you can even call it that--but she's going to have a fit!

Til Later..L.A. Jefferson