He's Not Lazy

March 20, 2017
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.

June 1, 2017
Price addresses a situation he refers to as opting out, in which teen boys appear lazy when in fact they are reacting to fear and pressure by shunning school with avoidance and denial. Price offers examples, lessons, and advice from his 25 years as a psychologist. While the book is filled with well-documented research, it is accessible to general readers. Price helps readers make a paradigm shift in how they view their sons' behavior, explains the science behind human brain development, provides instructions for creating a plan for success, and most importantly, outlines how parents can change their own attitudes. The parents' change in perspective is the most important key; in the process, they will help their sons create self-sufficient, self-regulated plans. Parents, college students, teachers, and psychologists will gain a better understanding of the problem and know how to help teen boys who are going through it have a successful school career. A good addition for public library parenting collections as well as academic libraries.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)