Many parents ask me how they can help their kids maintain a school-life balance without risking their high school, college, and future professional potential. In other words, “I want my kid to be happy, but I also want him to get straight As. How do I do that?”

Let’s start with an analogy.

Suppose you want to run a marathon. Without making comment on anyone’s current level of fitness, this is a tall order. You are given two choices:

• Run as far and as hard as you can every day until you can manage 26.2 miles, or
• Find a training regimen, preferably administered by an expert marathoner, and apply the techniques over the course of many months until the regimen and your trainer believe you are ready.

This is an obvious choice, yes?

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