You need to remind him over and over and over again that there will always be people that can do more than he can. Their IQ may not be as great or it may be greater, but they may be more able to process and remember data. Just being able to understand HOW is not enough. Remind him that even a few weeks can change what he can and can't do. And he has to learn to live with it. He's growing up, but demanding that he gets what HE wants is just asking for trouble. Learning how to handle disappointment is much more important than calculus. Ask him if he wants to be known as a spoiled brat, or a responsible person that does his best, no matter where he is. It could be something simple like there were too many in the classroom and everyone else does better than he does. It's possible that he isn't as bright as he thinks he is. He needs to accept that possibility. There is a limit, and he may have already reached his. He has to accept that possibility. It might ease your mind if you had a private talk with the teacher. You could be in for a big surprise.

So after much thought - we decided to talk to our daughter and let her know that we wanted to get her a laptop - but that we also have concerns about her use of technology - and that we would only do this with a contract. I'm going to be working on the contract for a while - and would welcome any ideas. So far, I know it will include that I have administrative control of the laptop - which will be used to update programs, run antivirus and antispyware - and generally ensure me that I have access (unlike her ipod which she changed her password on so I don't have access). It also includes that all technology (ipods, laptop, etc) will be in the parent's bedroom - from when it's time to get ready for bed - until after school the next day (or the next morning if there's no school). (not having it in the kitchen over night bc. she'll sneak down and get it if she's awake in the middle of the night. She won't sneak into our bedroom to get it.) This will prevent her from using it in the middle of the night (esp. tempting when her friend lives in Vietnam is is available to chat at those times) - and thinking she can have the laptop open in the bathroom while she's getting ready for bed. For now, I am not setting time limits - but will include that those could get added in the future if we think she's using it too much. The reason to not add it now is that she is using it a bit too much. BUT - that's bc. she loves her new Sims game - which is actually motivating her to do her homework as soon as she comes home. For the first time ever, I do not have to monitor her homework and keep asking her to do it (I still pay attention to what she's doing, but it's nice that the impetus to do it and stay organized is now coming from her). She's also coming out of a serious depression - and having some pretty terrific, responsible behavior - so any limits on amount of her free time spent on the computer - when she's meeting all her responsibilities - isn't as pressing for right now. She's also healing form a broken ankle - so in fairness to her, there's not as much active stuff she can do with her free time. ------------------------------- I have some questions about how to set up her computer so I have administrative control. I have that set up on my computer now - and she can use it as a guest. But if my computer is off - and restarts, she needs the password to get on. She doesn't have the password to my computer (which is how I want it). But I do want her to be able to log into her own computer without me giving her the administrator's password. Is there a way to do this? Set it up so she can start the computer and log in as a guest? Thanks. Lynn.

You should not be starting a new thread on an existing problem otherwise confusion reigns. This needs to be copied and pasted to the original thread so everyone can see the full picture of the problem and any help offered to date. The original thread

Yes, I know that. House A is our primary residence--that's essential so we can get the tax deduction when we sell that. C isn't an investment property--so I don't know if that advice would work for us. It's a little complicated. Our 18% share is because we refused to take money from MIL's assets when we had huge legal fees when other relatives were stealing from her. We were legally entitled to be repaid for bringing the matter to the court's attention, but as the outlaws had already stolen a quarter of a mil from her, we weren't comfortable taking even a penny of the little she had left for her end care (she had Alzheimer's). The lawyers (ours, MIL's financial guardian, and the out-laws' lawyer) and came up with the solution that they'd put a percentage of the house in our name which we'd get after she died. She did (outlaws never even told us, so we missed the funeral, but that's another post, GRRR). So, long story short--I'm not exactly sure how you would classify that bit of property--we've owned it on paper for a few years, but haven't had use of it, nor income--but we also haven't had any expenses for it's upkeep, either. So it's all a little complicated. Only thing I know, is that we really couldn't afford the money we put out at the time--but we felt we couldn't afford NOT to either, and now my sweet MIL is at peace, and we will finally recoup what we spent to protect her from a bunch of folks who professed to love her with their mouths, while they were shoving their hands into her pockets. But I do appreciate the suggestion and will bring it up when I get to sit down with my accountant. I was sort of thinking that I might want to invest in some sort of property eventually, once we've liquidated all this extra real estate we've found ourselves holding at the moment.