Problem: Article: Avoid putting words in her mouth or interrupting her when she speaks. Encourage her to talk by asking casual questions about her day, or how a test went at school. Note her responses and allow her to share her thoughts. Have a two way conversation. Showing your teen you care about her thoughts and opinions during a conversation will give her more confidence to be open and honest with you. Allow her to ask questions and let her think for herself. An example conversation starter might be: "How are things at school?" "How did practice go?" "Was the party fun on Saturday?" Let your teen know you care about what's going on in their lives and you are there to listen. "You know you can always talk to me if you're having trouble at school or you are feeling distracted." "I'm here to listen if you ever need to talk." "Remember, you can talk and I'll just listen." . Most teenagers may appear lazy or distracted, when in fact, they are often sleep deprived. Unlike adults, adolescents are actually biologically prone to sleeping in later and waking up in the mid morning, rather than in the early morning. So when your teen is forced out of bed at 7 or 8 am to go to school and learn, her natural sleep cycles is thrown off and she will likely appear lazy, disoriented, and unmotivated, all symptoms of lack of sleep. This is why it is so important that your teen goes to bed at a decent time to ensure she gets eight full hours of sleep a night. This will help to prevent appearing lazy, and ensure she has enough energy for the day. Discuss your teen's sleep patterns and her typical bed time. A consistent bed time every night, even on weekends, will help to set her natural sleep cycle and allow her body to get enough rest. For example, if she has to wake up at 7 am five days a week for school, she should be going to bed no later than 10:30 pm to ensure she gets a full eight hour sleep. She should then try to stick to this bedtime on weekends so she doesn't throw off her natural sleep cycle. Many teenagers drag their heels when asked to do chores or tasks because they don't see the value in doing these things. They may think, so what if I forget to take out the trash, or to clean my room? What does it matter? As a parent, its important for you explain that in fact you do not always want to do certain chores or tasks and would rather be doing other things with your time. But completing household chores and other life tasks is part of being a responsible member of the family. Note that importance of teamwork and cooperation between everyone in the household to ensure chores and tasks are done equally in the home. Explaining to your teen that you often don't enjoy doing household duties, but you do them anyway for the good of everyone will help your teen understand the reasoning behind completing a chore or task. This will then motivate her to do her part as a member of the family. Laziness can sometimes be a symptom of other issues, like a lack of sleep, depression, stress, or other internal struggles. If your teen seems to be more sluggish or lazy than usual and is displaying other signs of depression or anxiety, sit down with your teen and talk with her. If you are worried about your teen's depression or anxiety, consider talking to a medical professional, your family doctor, or a counselor about next steps.
Summary: Listen and be patient with your teen. Ask your teen about her sleep schedule Explain the value of following through on commitments and responsibilities. Check if there are other issues at home or at school.

Problem: Article: Do each of the following for 5-10 seconds as you get ready for bed: Touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth, then open your mouth as wide as you can without pain. Keep your tongue against the roof of your mouth, then slide your lower jaw as far out as you can. After that, slide it in as far as you can. Open your mouth as wide as you comfortably can, with your tongue in a neutral position. Then, close your mouth and reopen it slightly, slide your jaw to the left for 5-10 seconds, then slide it to the right for 5-10 seconds. Clamp a pencil, paintbrush, or similar object between your front teeth, securely but not forcefully. Slowly glide your lower jaw forward as far as you comfortably can, without letting the object fall out of your mouth. Hold the position for 20 seconds. Try doing this 2-3 times nightly before bedtime. Over time, you may be able to do this exercise with a thicker object, like a child's easy-grip pencil. Hold your thumb firmly against the underside of your chin. Press your thumb up with moderate force and open your mouth until it is comfortably wide, against the resistance of your thumb. Hold the position for 5-10 seconds. The resistance provided by your thumb makes this a jaw strengthening exercise. Try doing this exercise 2-3 times each morning. Touch your index finger between your lower lip and your chin, then open your mouth comfortably wide. Press your finger against the front of your jaw with moderate force, and slowly close your mouth against this resistance. This strengthening exercise targets different areas of your jaw muscles than the thumb exercise. Repeat this exercise 2-3 times each morning.
Summary:
Repeat a series of 3 simple jaw stretches every evening. Add a jaw stretch using a pencil to your nightly routine. Press your thumb to your chin as a wake-up exercise. Follow up with a second jaw exercise using your index finger each morning.