The question: When I was a teen, I got all my stuff done. Why won’t my kid do the same? The quick answer: Most teens who seem unmotivated aren’t actually lacking drive. They light up for things that feel meaningful or immediately rewarding, and stall on tasks that feel boring, overwhelming, or disconnected from their goals. The fix isn’t more pressure; it’s…
Every fall, parents feel like they’re falling off a cliff. Their teen is suddenly falling behind in school, and parents are left wondering what happened to the smart, capable student who was so psyched to make good grades this year. Motivation goes up in smoke as their teen suddenly stops turning in assignments and starts avoiding homework. The pattern is surprisingly common, and…
If the holidays blew up your teen’s sleep schedule, motivation, and emotional regulation, you’re not alone. Many parents start January thinking: “We need to get back on track.” What they often mean is: “I can’t survive another semester like last fall.” But here’s the good news: getting back on track doesn’t require stricter rules, harsher consequences, or constant reminders. What works instead…
Every December, the cycle repeats: school lets out, routines disappear, and your teen becomes permanently glued to a screen. Phones. Gaming. Streaming. Scrolling. And before long, you’re doing what you promised yourself you wouldn’t: nagging, threatening, negotiating, or snapping. Screen time battles with teens don’t start because parents want to be controlling. They start because parents are anxious. Worried their teen is…
The question of why college freshmen are struggling keeps popping up in my inbox. When I speak with parents, they blame themselves or their child. Most of the time, that blame comes from not knowing what’s actually happening beneath the surface. But many of the most powerful forces driving college failure are invisible from the outside. In this continuation from my prior…