Our middle child, a girl, switched from a CLASS1 parochial school into a public school. She thought that she would now be free to coast. However, her parents formed a UNITED FRONT against her stupidity. In her first term in the public school, she got a "C-" average.

Guess what happened? She was UTTERLY GROUNDED. Nothing but school, homework, + domestic necessities, food, bathroom, sleep, was permitted. She could not use the telephone or computer (other than for school). She could not have friends over, nor visit them elsewhere. Her privileges were reduced to ZERO. The parents of her friends were informed and supported us. She screamed, displayed tantrums, etc, etc, but to NO AVAIL. When she realized that she was losing she decided that the fight was not worth it. Her SECOND TERM average was an "A-". She continued with this level of performance. When she got to college, she continued her corrected trajectory and obtained an average 3.85 (out of 4) score throughout college. She was accepted into Law School and passed the State Bar.

This is what can happen when parents are SERIOUS.

PS: None of our children were ever permitted unrestricted TV or Internet use. TV was limited to ONE PROGRAM PER WEEK, chosen by us, her parents. Internet use was equally controlled. ALL THREE earned a 3.8+ GPA in college. All graduated from college and became gainfully employed. The wailing and gnashing of teeth were simply incredible, but we stuck to our guns. They all thanked us for our discipline AFTER they got out of college.