The Watts' Adventures

Well, there is a time in a parents life that one has to become mean, cruel, unfair, and any other describing word that might enter the minds of a 10 & 7 year old without coming out of their mouth! Yep... The Watts' boys are officially UNPLUGGED. Report cards did not fair too well this nine weeks. Michael had one "C" added to last nine weeks "C" cost him an unwanted vacation from Project Idea and a mom that is dead on his heels. Oh, before I forget the positive side of Michael's report card, his other grades were A's & B's. The first nine weeks of school we let Michael attempt to prepare himself for Middle School next year. Give him the benefit of the doubt and intrusting in him that he was completing homework assignments, studying for tests, listening in class, etc. First report card, clued me in....... especially when no spelling words were coming home and very little books were in his book bag, his first "C" ever. After investigating, I found his social life to be his #1 priority. Hmmm.... so, I kept the watchful eye and again, letting him learn from mistakes, and giving him warnings, we let him try to bring his grades up on his own. Low and behold... another "C" this nine weeks.

Hunter... my baby.... Hunter stuggles and fights for EVERY grade he gets. A "C" for Hunter is equivalent to an "A" for Michael. But... how do you explain that to the children???? A "C" is a "C" no matter what, so Michael says.... Hunter has struggled this year, no thanks to the year that he had last year.... enough said.... We have been working with Hunter alot this year, getting him up to par. He has improved 110%. Our work has paid off. Maybe us parents should get a % of pay from the school board.. yeah right and I'm not going there either. His other grades were A's & B's as well.

So....... the brakes were on at the Watts' house. Reality was going to hit those little angles hard! After talking with David, we called a meeting. I announced that the Watts' boys were officially unplugged. No playstation at all Monday- Thursday, TV from 8-9pm only and only if all homework was completed, checked and all studying, reading and tests had been called out by MOM! If everything passed then TV was allowed for only 1 hour. Oh and the worst of all... No baseball practice unless all written homework assignments were completed at the babysitters. There were no exceptions, bending of the rules or begging for mercy. This was the law and if it was broken the death penalty would be put in place...... not really but you get the idea.

So, actually all of this has been a great positive thing........ early to bed, early to rise, educational sites on the computer have taken the place of the PS2 which has proven to be a huge benefit, (oh yeah, forgot that one, the only computer stuff they can do is educational sites, in which I find so they can practice their "C" subjects) They have also been practicing on their pool playing, doing alot of cleaning and chores around the house. I never knew how much time they had on their hands. Am I a bad mom????

Friday nights are really funny & very quiet around here, as well as Saturdays & Sundays. The boys are busily playing their playstations, making up for lost time. They also spend time watching their recorded shows that they missed during the week.

Ah..... Life as a parent...... Keep checking back.. Interim reports come out Feb. 23rd... We'll see if "unplugged" has really worked!