What to do with a little girl with no motivation and very short attention span?

Question

My little cousin sets up goals for the summer:Reading 10 books, and writing/ publishing a book. I know she's very capable of doing these things and usually DOES finish up projects/ accomplish goals/ work really hard... but now she just seems so LAZY. She would read a paragraph in the book then will forget what she's doing and sidetrack. She used to be quite a neat-freak too but now her room has been really messy for the past 2 months. She says, "i'll clean t by the end of the day" so she works on it... then 10 minutes later forgets what she's doing and stops. Been happening quite a lot already.

Answer 1

She sounds like me a couple months ago. ADD. have her parents take her to the doctor and they put her on riddlin or something. Good luck

Answer 2

Could be something in her diet, many food & toxin allergies cause this type of behavior. Check out her environment. It can also be emotional. If she is near puberty this could also be the cause.  

Answer 3

these are all signs of some underlying problem that could be mental or physical.  talk to her and just say hey i've noticed you're a little unfocused recently, anything going on or you need to talk about. ask if there's anything you can do to help her get refocused? then, please talk to her parents and convince them to get her evaluated immediately.  

Answer 4

hey, i don't think is just rebellion, on her part....i think A/S/A/P

get her to a Doctor, somethings going on, lets pray its not serious

i know i will be praying for her...be gentle, i feel its a medical condition

Answer 5

Has she lost interest in her hobbies? Has she lost or gain appetite/weight? Loss of personal hygeine? If so she may be suffering from stress and/or depression. Talk to her about it straight away but be gentle. If not, then it may just be her hormones depending on her age.  

Answer 6

You did not say how old she is, and if the Doctor has checked her over for anemia, or iron deficiency. If those things are okay, give her a break (sounds like she is taking one), she will focus on the things she is interested in. Keep the lessons or stories short and interesting.

Do some things that she wants to do on certain days, it really is up to the parents to get after her about the messy room. nice of you to try and help her. thanks

Answer 7

Its probally just a stage shes going through. wait  for a month

Answer 8

that doesnt sound good... she could have add or something?? i would take take her to some kind of doctor- probably a mental health doctor. the rees on yahoo answers dont know anything... dont trust their answers. but really, that doesnt sound healthy for the kid. go try to figure out whats wrong!!!

Answer 9

Its just a phase.

Set smaller goals - like to write one page by the end of the day, to write a paragraph in the next hour (turn off all distractions until that paragraph is done), to read one chapter by the end of the week. Get her to calculate how much work this would require and what pace she needs to set.

Its not right to push kids too hard, but by the same token, left to their own devices most kids wont do anything. So dont feel bad about applying some positive encouragement.

Answer 10

It seems like she may be going through something personal that may be affecting her mood.  She could be going through some type of depression as its early signs are lack of motivation, carelessness and lack of focus (usually attributed to having something bigger on her mind).  Try to talk to her and see if you can find out what's wrong.

Answer 11

Tell her that if she does "so and so" then she can get a reward. That might help her stay on track, i used to be the same way, i kind of still am. You can also try taking away some of her things like tv, make her sit somewhere that has no distractions and tell her to read, or work on her project. That will help a lot. Hope this helped!!

With Much Love,

-Alexa <333

Answer 12

you don't say how old she is...but sudden behavioral changes like that can be a clue to drug use.. good luck.

Answer 13

She could have some psychological problems like the onset of attention deficit disorder.  She could be depressed.  

Answer 14

She needs to see a regular doctor and a psychologist for evaluation. It sounds like she is depressed about something.