Some teenagers may not feel motivated to excel in school, make socially ethical decisions, and tidy up their rooms without their parents having to ask or remind them. These behavior may seem like irresponsibility and lack of motivation to some parents; when in reality, they are due to misplaced motivation. Majority of adolescents want to be successful but get caught in a cycle of confusion and fear of failure that eventually undermines their desire to do anything, which is one of the signs of anxiety in teens.
As parents, it is your responsibility to understand your teen’s developmental need to succeed and feel good about what they do. Let’s start by examining the extrinsic type of motivation.
Perhaps you’re trying to motivate your teen to get better grades in school. You’ve tried gently encouraging them, pleading with them, even threatening and ignoring their lack of interest toward the subject (this causes panic attacks in teens), and still see no improvement. Finally, you come to the conclusion that a B average is a realistic standard and declare an ultimatum – if your child gets anything lower than a B, they lose weeknight streaming privileges.
Or maybe you take a positive approach and promise them a treat of they achieve a B average on their next report card.
Both are examples of extrinsic motivation. One uses punishment while the other uses a reward.
Teen Anxiety is here to help parents help their children cope with difficult anxiety attacks caused by conditions like anxiety, trauma, and other mental health disorders. We are also here to educate parents about anxiety and how they can help their teenagers to cope it. For more information about our services, you may contact us here.