Homeschool Middle School and High I need some serious advice about my 13-year-old. With the school year ending, | sat down to review his progress and was horrified to discover he hasn't actually completed any real work since Christmas. All those hours he claimed to be doing online lessons? He was just playing video games the entire time. When | switched him to handwritten assignments last month, he filled notebooks with complete nonsense - random words, half-sentences, even doodles. When confronted, he said "It's not like a teacher is grading it anyway." We've tried everything these past few weeks: Banned all devices - He just stared at the wall for hours Assigned physical labor - Did the absolute minimum while complaining Early bedtimes - Said he preferred sleeping anyway Writing essays - Filled pages with "l don't care" repeated endlessly The gaming addiction has become so bad that:
He set alarms to wake up at 3AM to play Snuck his phone into the bathroom for 2-hour "showers" Blew through $300 of in-app purchases we didn't authorize Yet he can't focus for 20 minutes on basic math. Here's where | need perspective: The only thing he genuinely invests time in is his appearance - specifically his hair. He spends over an hour daily washing, styling, and maintaining it. Meanwhile, he claims he "doesn't have time" for 30 minutes of schoolwork. My husband suggested that until he completes all missing work and maintains consistency for a month, we cut his hair to a simple, low- maintenance style. Not bald or extreme - just removing what's clearly become a distraction. I'm conflicted. On one hand, it feels severe. On the other, we're dealing with months of deception and zero responsiveness to normal discipline, but what alternative is there when a child respects nothing except his own vanity? At what point do consequences need to actually impact the child to be effective?At what point do you match the consequence to what actually matters to the child?
This is a too frequent type of #homeschool post. Middle & high school kids are expected to complete online classes w/out supervision. They don't. Months later, parents find out and want to cut the kid's hair off as punishment. #EdConsultant #EduSky
