Most teenagers reach a certain point in their teenage life when they feel unmotivated and not interested in anything. When such is the case, the teenagers become very argumentative and lazy such that they rarely listen to their parents.
If that’s the case, you definitely need to check this out first.
Teens want to be in touch and feel connected with their peers and this may be one of the reasons why your teenage son has no interest in anything. What is more intriguing about teenagers is that they like enjoying the freedom of making their own decisions even when they are unable to make wise and informed decisions. As a parent, you must understand the behavior of your teenage son so that you can know how to motivate him.
Below are some ways and tips on how you can motivate your teenage son when he is not interested in anything.
Present him with a challenge
Teenage boys respond positively to friendly challenges. For instance, you may challenge him to get a higher score in a particular subject than he got in previous exams.
At times, competitions can be healthy as they can provide the much needed motivation to spark interest in doing something. You can promise to buy your teenage son something he has wanted for so long if he achieves a particular target.
Provide an incentive
Teenagers and young adults have an amazing me-centric view and approach of the world coupled with a strong orientation. If your unmotivated teenage son can figure out what lies in store for him in a certain task, he can easily feel motivated and develop interest in that task.
The incentive you provide your son with can be in different forms including but not limited to money and gifts.
Make it fun
Teenagers unlike adults live for three F’s namely fun, friends and freedom. If any of these F’s is absent, it becomes easy for the teenager to lose interest and motivation. Fun should be an important ingredient in any task that the teenage is doing.
As a parent, you should always avoid situations that seem all too serious for your teenage sons. This is because of the fact that intense seriousness can be a great de-motivating factor that can make the teenage to lose interest very quickly.
Help him focus and strategize on his future
One of the main causes of disinterest in teenagers is lack of focus and strategy on the future. It can be quite hard for your teenage son to envision how he would like his future to turn out to be.
This is especially if he has never had to make an important decision about the direction that he would like his life to take.
While helping your son focus on his life is important, it should not be overdone as he needs to understand that his life is his road to walk in. This is the only way he can be able to lead a meaningful and successful life.
Obviously, this is a hugely sensitive part of his life as it will dictate how the rest of his life will take shape. As such, it should be done with close monitoring and supervision from the parent.
Make use of his peer group
There is nothing that can be damaging and disorienting like wrong peer influence. Therefore, it is important to know and understand his peers so that you can be in a position to use the group to influence him. What are the interests of his peers? Is the peer influence detrimental to his morals and manners?
If your son’s peer group does not seem to be morally upright or are into retrogressive behaviors such drug use and alcoholism, you need to talk your son out of the group as soon as you can. Some of these behaviors can have lifelong damaging effects on the progress and development of your son’s future.
Harness the power of social media and modern technology
Another way through which you can create interest in your teenage son is by using social media and modern technology to motivate him. Encourage him to use the internet constructively to reach useful information such as on career, colleges to attend, as well as other important topics.
Always let your teenage son feel free to express himself and never let it appear like you are forcing him into something he does not want. This is because teens are very rebellious and can turn out to be terribly de-motivated and not interested as a way to show that they also have a voice.
