Quit. Looking. At. Powerschool.

Today is the end of the first quarter and I guess I've become obsessed. I've questioned my oldest about missing a few questions here and there since school began (because let's face it, I'm THAT parent who gets the weekly Powerschool emails) and I've been accused of expecting perfection. I don't expect perfection, but I know when he's capable of more, and if he doesn't understand something, I want to make sure we nip that in the bud before they move away from that topic... 

...that said, I have to stop. I've always held high expectations for myself, and unfortunately, I guess that's bleeding over into my parenting. I don't ever want my kids to think that their worth is in their grades. Or their sport stats. Or their weight or looks. Try your best and we'll work through the rest. But that's easier said than done. 

I think it's important to strike a balance though because I don't want to lower my expectations because I know he's capable of so much. I read once that you should meet kids where they are and I agree with that to an extent, but I also think that you should encourage them to raise the bar for themselves. If you only expect them to be "average" then they may not challenge themselves, therefore they may not reach their full potential. Of course for many kids, in some subjects, "average" may be raising the bar. For example, I'm terrible at math and always have been, so C's would have been probably my best effort. I am definitely not a parenting expert and I am working on this myself. 

Either way, I just want my kids to try their best and to know they are loved and that I'm proud of them no matter what. I've been working on my delivery of questions regarding assignments and grades and I talk to Austin to make sure he understands where I'm coming from. 

If elementary school brings this much pressure (whether self-initiated, parent-initated, or otherwise) I'm terrified of middle and high school.