Braces and Grades

Good gods, my poor Kid is going have way too much fun at the orthodontist.

Took him to get his teeth cleaned. Dentist asked to speak with me afterwards (no cavities, but getting his 12 year molars sealed).

1. He asked when he's getting braces and jaw surgery, because it's bad bad bad.
      * I was like, starting when he's 15 according to what was said last year.
B. He contacted the orthodontist to get a copy of his x-rays, because he might need them sooner.
+. I was told he will be in for a long haul, not just 2 year braces.
4. The orthodontist called me, so now have an appt to get his teeth x-ray'd again this Thursday.
E. I asked to know if it's going to happen sooner, since the Ex and I will need the Kid on both insurances to help cover the cost of this.

My poor kid :( I do not wish this on him. It will be probably 4 years of braces. Yikes. Oww.

I did talk to the Ex about this too, he said it's from his side because he has a narrow jaw and very similar issues. Lovely.

I met with his teachers (Yes, the Ex was there) and it was basically - the Kid does not do the work. Everyone else does, just not him. He's failing 3 classes and not really trying in math. He could have all A's, but he is just not caring or putting in the effort.

I went home afterwards, had words with him, and then voted. Words, you know, things like.

You will not put your head down in class
Stop all this Timothy shit (he likes to call people Timothy and he thinks it's cool)
No more buying artwork from your friend, if you do, I will shred it.
You WILL DO ALL YOUR WORK IN EVERY CLASS.
You will do all your homework, I will help.
You will pay attention.

You know, those little things...

I tried taking all his stuff away. Didn't really work. Tried grounding him. Didn't work. I've talked and talked and talked. I can talk until I am blue but if the other person is not listening, there is no point.

So...we're cleaning his room this weekend. I think it might need a bit deeper cleaning than he thinks, so will see how it goes.

Right now, it looks like this

It's not horrible. But I think we need to make some changes.