Another parenting mistake–not as bad as physical abuse, but it honestly comes from a similar mind-set–is what I can only describe as “run-through parenting.” I’m using video game terminology. Basically, these are the parents who want their kids to get perfect scores in everything while growing up, but don’t care about the child’s actual capabilities. The Menendez brothers’ parents were like this–writing their papers and doing their homework for them. (Also, there were the likely true accusations of molestation. Plus physical abuse that had multiple witnesses, both of which are certainly worse) It’s as if these parents forget that the learning is important, and only care about how their child looks on paper. I have a friend who was homeschooled in complete isolation and many subjects were neglected. Entering college at 15 looks great until you have to drop out after three semesters because you don’t have the study skills necessary to thrive.

And, yes, considering the kind of advantage that grade-altering can cause if you aren’t caught, that sort of behavior should certainly be illegal.