Is your teen lacking motivation? ... What for?
Indeed, what for? It has different meanings for you and for them…
You sense or hear a lack of interest in studies, difficulty concentrating, remembering, getting down to work, or even planning ahead?
The situation doesn’t hold the same meaning for you as it does for them.
And all the advice you hear everywhere doesn’t change a thing.
Some parents whose issue hasn’t really surfaced yet should anticipate, as, without being alarmist, this affects a growing number of students.
For parents where the situation is well established and persistent, think, why do you want them to work?
Consider the disparity between the current digital evolution, the nature of what they’re taught in school, and the job opportunities society struggles to provide them with.
It’s like visualizing three parallel lines: they never meet.
More concretely, on one side, they have constant dopamine boosts through social media, flirting, or video games, and on the other, there’s schoolwork.
It’s a no-brainer, submerged in the present moment.
From their perspective, the situation, when they’re aware of it—or when you impose that awareness through your discourse—is even simpler.
But in reality, your discourse has no effect, because, practically, what would they be motivated to do and why?
First, they would need a goal, a good reason to start working.
Then, for it to make sense to them, that work would need to help them achieve their goal.
So, things need to be taken in order: the first step is for them to have a goal.