Academic Achievement in Adolescence- Zara Foley

After reading chapter eleven, I was reassured that I'm doing SOMETHING right with my 14 year old.  According to our book, "gradually permitting autonomy with age, achieve especially well."  Even though she is grounded right now, she knows her freedoms and choices are up to her right now.  Our kids have chores, have to maintain a certain GPA, and have to do what they are told.  A lot of things have changed as our kids have gotten older.  They are allowed to walk about five blocks to the community center, have friends over, join in school activities, go to dances and ride bikes.  This hasn't always been the case.  When they were littler, and more immature they did not get to do these things.  But as they have gotten older, their reponsibilities have grown, as well as their freedom to do things on their own.  Now that she is grounded, her freedom is gone until her restriction is over, and she proves to us she is trustworthy.  She hasn't done anything a teenager her age typically doesn't do- but we don't allow our kids to cuss.  We found out her and her sister had been cussing around their friends- and we were totally shocked our "church kids" had foul mouths.  Throughout the last few years we had been giving our kids speeches about how their responsibility gives them what they want as well.  Their grades are wonderful and it makes me feel reassured that our parenting style will result in effort, high achievement, and educational aspirations.