Om Swami
My child plays video games and chats on the phone instead of studying. What should I say?
Few words, not repeated nagging
A child who spent a semester playing video games and chatting with friends on the phone was told, in three or four sentences, that he had let down the one who trusted him and that he was studying for himself. Saying the same thing repeatedly will not make you any more audible to a child.
I just want to tell you I'm incredibly hurt that you let me down. I really trusted you. You are not studying for me or for anybody else, you are studying for yourself.