Some parents are too overprotected while others are on the other side of the spectrum. It's definitely a balancing act. I had a BF in the 5th grade and her moms expected nothing but excellence from her. She woke up early has hell to swim before school and after school was piano lessons. I even recall her piano teacher being a total bastard too LOL. Weekends it was tennis. And she was never supposed to get an -A let alone B. I found out that when she went to college at Northwestern -- she completely went "Girls Gone Wild." In the end, she came out of it but she had a lot of pent up tension that she accrued since she was a little girl and her relationship with her mom totally suffered. Your story reminded me of her within the first few sentences. I haven't thought of her in YEARS! Thanks for writing this. A very important insight for parents!