As a parent who has kids that are approaching the teenage years, I’m trying to prepare myself for what awaits me! As a psychotherapist, one of the topics that I have found myself involved in is procrastination and I have blogged and recorded videos on both of these topics. In my video this week I talked about motivation in teenagers and gave some reasons for why a teen might have motivational challenges.

When I googled “motivation teenager” a video at the top of the list was called “How to Motivate a Lazy Teenager” and that made me think – are teenagers lazy?

Yes, there are lots of lazy teenagers just as there are lots of lazy adults. Teens differ in that they are undergoing important physical changes (I think you’ve heard of puberty!!!) and also are trying to develop independence as they transition to adulthood.

Here is what I’m wondering – are teens actually lazy or are they a person in transition?

Science daily reports on a study that looked at changing the start time of schools in order to match up better with the natural wake time of adolescents and found that teens took advantage of this sleep. They also found that participants did not stay up later because of the delayed school start – so they actually got more sleep. They also talk about the circadian rhythms of teens and how they differ from adults. While some teens I’m sure are lazy, I wonder if they get a bad rap and are being held accountable for their biology.

So here’s the question – if a teen’s body is undergoing change and their sleep patterns don’t match the standard school schedule, is it fair to call them lazy?