He’s Not Lazy: Empowering Your Son to Believe in Himself

Clinical psychologist Price maintains that increasingly competitive American society has fostered an epidemic of motivation-lacking teens and preteens, especially boys. His informative debut book focuses on those who “ ‘opt-out’ of the competition altogether” when they feel inadequate to meet the many demands placed on them. In the first section, he helps parents understand these boys’ struggles by outlining how a variety of issues affect the way they act and feel, including their changing minds and bodies, their often-neglected emotions, and their learning styles. The second section provides tools, suggestions, and guidelines for setting parents and their teenage sons on a path to self-motivation. Price reinforces his theory with case studies, expert commentary, clinical research, and statistics, adding substance to this already instructive guide. Charts and tables peppered throughout visually highlight the statistics and examples he references, and an appendix features a series of planning worksheets for teenage boys and their parents. Price’s book will provide inspiration for scores of parents seeking to understand why their sons are floundering, and will encourage greater acceptance for how today’s teenage boys face challenges. (Aug.)