Three strikes and you’re out!

Not in the sense of baseball, but not really in the sense of the law where you commit three of the same crimes and you're out.  However, strikes against you nonetheless.  That's Cole.

He's been spiraling out with his academic life and well, he's not going to like me much longer.....if he did in the first place.  I know I'm mean.  I know we discipline and he doesn't like it, but our hopes is one day he'll get it.  It will click and as he's making an bad choice he'll hear us in the back of his mind and stop or change whatever he's doing.

Earlier in the week he had papers he apparently wasn't turning in.  He "says" he had them done and had them in his desk, but suddenly couldn't find them.  His desk is, honestly, probably as messy as his shelf above his bed used to be.  His teacher was nice enough to let him complete and turn in and he slops through it with a C!  This kid can go from a C to an A in a matter of two weeks.  When he actually uses his mind and attempts to try he breezes right through, but this is him not trying which is particularly usual of him.  So tonight he brings home his "Friday" folder half full of A+'s and half full of non-passing grades.  He's grounded from playstation and all other screens for the weekend.  He's not happy, but, well, what are you going to do!  So I made him correct all papers C and below and redo and redo and redo until they were correct.  He's got to try!  One was completely careless and the other it was obvious he wasn't paying attention during that lesson, because after I explained he did just fine correcting his mistakes.  I keep trying to tell him that if you take the time to do it right the first time you won't have to do it a 2nd and 3rd and so on. 

I think I'll punish him for the homework issue the same way we have in the past.  Find worksheets online in those subjects and make him do extra school work.  He loves that one.  The grounded is for trading Pokemon cards on the bus, to which he owns none of in the first place.  Well, apparently at some point someone gave him a few and he was trading with neighbor boy tonight and took one and really upset him, which meant a meeting of the moms.  So now he's grounded since he's been warned.

We keep telling ourselves over and over and over again "this is good for him", "he will eventually get it" or "we're doing what's best for him".  All right already!!!!

Lisa