... when you find yourself PUNISHING your whiny 14yo for outrageously claiming (after ten minutes of effort) that she is "just not good at math" when attempting to rock an A in this class on just 10 minutes a day...

Yeah, princess-- you're right. EVERYONE in the world but you could do this when they were ten. Without even thinking about it. Clearly you got the short end of the stick, since you don't just "know" how to do it already. Besides, you SHOULD be able to facebook IM all day long, try to run yourself down in various domains to make yourself more socially appealing... all while you ace your classes. Sure. [/sarcasm]

tired

So how does one punish avoidant and self-handicapping behavior in a perfectionist, one might ask?

1. take her phone away
2. physical labor-- she's shoveling ice off the sidewalk. Which, in related news, was a lot easier before she broke the handle off the snow-shovel. wink

Next up, a little number that I like to call "working problems from the class textbook."

Hey-- not my fault that she won't tolerate instruction from me. I know this stuff. {shrug} I also know that it ISN'T the easiest thing in the world to go from sigma to s and keep the variables straight as you make the transition. Practice helps, no matter who you are.

I call this the "too smart to study" phenomenon. SIGH

Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.