Bright Kids Who Couldn’t Care Less How to Rekindle Your Child’s Motivation by Ellen Braaten, PhD, with a foreword by Sheryl Sandberg

Over the course of her 25-year career, psychologist and learning expert Ellen Braaten has begun to notice a trend. More and more parents are coming to her because their kids couldn’t care less about anything. How do bright, motivated young children become such unmotivated older kids and teens—and what can parents do about it? In this warm and encouraging guide, Dr. Braaten explains that kids who have lost the will to do anything (other than play video games) need more than simple encouragement or the “right” school, teacher, or coach to get back on track. Instead, Dr. Braaten helps parents understand the myriad biological, emotional, cognitive, and social factors that affect motivation—and build a plan to boost their child’s confidence, incentive to learn, and engagement in life. “My approach is to explore the issue of kids who couldn’t care less from many different vantage points. I start with helping you identity the problem—why is it that so many kids don’t seem to care about anything? I identify the factors that are essential to motivation and help you think about how these factors are important in your child’s development and life. You will gain a better understanding of your child’s unique qualities (and maybe your own too) and learn how your expectations might be getting in the way of motivation (and how you can readjust them if needed).” –Ellen Braaten, PhD more: getthefunkoutshow.kuci.org