Serious is good and so is humor. I’m better at serious and work on the humor part sometimes too much.
Advocate for your child. Take it seriously enough to keep him where he belongs and laugh the rest off.
When the oldest was in high school the counselor drive us nuts. He would say no to my child then I would make an appointment and he would say yes. By 10th grade I’d had enough. The first time it happened I called and said as much as I enjoyed speaking to him I suggested we reduce appointments to things that really mattered. Like if my child got a B. If he had questions about any request please feel free to call or email. The next call was senior year when it was noted that a health and computer class was missing. We found a solution and he said he wished all parents were like me. WTF.