The best advice you thought you gave your high schooler and the worst. What would you change?

Parent Cafe
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Best
This advice was given much earlier than high school, but has remained useful across time and across a wide range of choices: “I can drive you to the pool, drag you out of the car, strip off your clothes, wrangle you into your suit, carry you to the starting block and push you in. But I can’t make you swim; only you can make that choice.”

Worst
“Just go to bed.”

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Worst advice was “Listen to your guidance counselor.” While she was fairly good at her job she was NOT harsh enough about the essays my daughter wrote for admissions. I learned my lesson and when the GC told S19 he was crazy to take the SAT before December of Junior year I overruled her. He took it in August, probably 1 and done, now has time to study for his classes and he’s prepared for the PSAT.

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@scoutsmom What should I worry about since my kid is now studying in NJ? It looks like a midwestesn state with poorly maintained streets ,that has history, which compensates for the bad infrastructure.

@allyphoe I told my son to go to bed too many, exhausting times. Now he is happy in a great University. It was the bain of my parenting but I think it worked. Sleep is important for teens.

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Best: Prep like crazy for PSAT/SAT/ACT. (Resulted in big merit scholarships for 5 kids so far).

Worst: #1 Join the debate team! (Resulted in D bringing her “skills” into every corner of our family life…Can we have our peace and quiet back?? So sick of the constant arguments- -I wanna run away from home!)

2 Sign up for that summer pre-med accelerated chemistry program-- Even though you haven't had chemistry before, you can handle it! (Torture. Not the way to start college. )

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@atomom My Kid did not join a debate team although I’m sure he would have won or wore out any debater he was pitted against. It could just be a teenage ability to show off their super human skills at arguing every point to the exhaustion of their poor worn out parents.

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@mathmom I get what you said because the best advice I received and didn’t follow was forget the bad parts of parenting , otherwise, you won’t ever have more than one kid. I didn’t follow the advice because I never forget.

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My S is an excellent debater but never joined any debate team. He was too chronically ill to have much of a role in HS life :(. Fortunately college was great fun for him!