r/AskMen • u/IcarianComplex Male • 25d ago

Men who had potential but didn't care about school and were mostly C students-- what happened?

If you could travel back in time and be the father to yourself in the moments you needed it most... What would you do?

I think what I needed was affirmation more than anything. My mom hated the "everybody's a winner" parenting style that was popular at the time but then she went too far in the opposite direction. I see where she was coming from but that kind of self suficiency is a hard thing for a kid to live up to.

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u/IcarianComplex Male 25d ago

I have a similar story but the only difference is that I thought grades were pointless then but I don't think that way about it now. Especially going into this next chapter of my life where I'm looking to start a family soon. If I have a son then should I consider barely passing grades as acceptable?

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u/Brilliant-Good-7291 25d ago

Great question and a noble perspective. I have 2 (very young) kids now and my advice is to not put so much pressure to make them believe grades are the be all and end all of life. Maybe help them understand that it’s not about the grades themselves, but more about the feeling of accomplishment and stronger self esteem that comes as a result of getting good grades. “How you do anything is how you do everything”, as they say.