teachers told me that life at the regular public ed school completely calmed down. The helicopter parents all took their kids there. That is obviously an exaggeration but I'm sure there is quite a bit of truth to it.

When our own son was in 6th grade my wife and I decided that she needed to take a step back from our son and let him do his own work and even fail once in a while. If he forgot to turn something in, he faced the consequences. He completely rose to the occasion, stayed organized, on top of assignments, and complete confidence in his abilities.

I see Moms bringing their kids lunch to school about 3 times a week because their child forgot it at home. Going hungry one or two lunches won't kill the kid but it sure will teach a lesson.