Be careful not to confuse familiarity with leniency. Every child needs clearly defined, individually tailored rules and contingent rewards and punishments. Easing off on this essential caregiving structure out of your own guilt or grief or your own fatigue is a disservice to your child. If a rule is worth making in the first place, it must be worth enforcing every time. Understanding your child's habituation style can help you set a pace best suited to his learning at home, at school and among peers.
Some children can absorb a great depth of information in a single, intense exposure.
Others learn best when information is presented in smaller bits interspersed among other stimulating activities. Your child's inherent learning style will vary with his overall health, fatigue, hunger and with his confidence in a given subject area. Experiment with how he learns best, using his boredom and avoidance as your cue. Wandering attention can mean that he's had enough. It's your signal to take a break and come back to it again later.