Today, I woke up at eleven o’clock. At first, I woke up at seven and brushed my teeth thinking that I would get some breakfast. But my fatigue persuaded me, whispering, “Breakfast is too tiring to make. You have to chop up fruits and put the bread in the toaster. Just go back to bed...”  I collapsed into my bed and pulled the covers up to my chin. The next time I opened up my eyes, it was 9:45. I reached for my phone, but it was too late. I had fallen asleep again. At eleven, I woke up to the sound of my mom yelling, “Get up and stop being lazy! You have a lot of work to do today.” Breakfast had already taken place, but there was still some leftovers. I ate a bagel and cream cheese. The past two nights, I’d had sleepovers in which I stayed up until around midnight watching YouTube with my friends or cousins. We had a good time, but I had to wake up at eight because my friend had to do volunteer hours; the next day I woke up at seven because of a cold. Just because I was poorly rested, and I slept in, doesn’t mean I should be called lazy. In many households around the globe, teenagers are labeled lazy and this has a negative effect on how they think of themselves.

Teenagers are perceived as “lazy” because their parents don’t understand the biology or the psychology of a teenager. According to a neuroscientist quoted in The Daily Telegraph, “Teenagers release melatonin (the sleepy hormone) a couple of hours later in the day than adults and so are able to stay up later, but then they need more sleep in the morning.” This means that parents shouldn’t worry if their kids won’t get out of bed in the morning, or expect that their teenagers will behave the same way as them when there is a biological difference. Some parents might think their teenager is “lazy” because they think that they don’t have much work. One parent featured on Psychology Today says, “My teenager is lazy...She's always putting me off with excuses and delays. All she wants at home is to be left alone, kick back, lay around, and do nothing. I mean, how lazy is that?" This parent is failing to understand how busy their child is. It takes a lot of work to manage the pressure of her social life and maintain her grades. Her parent might not be able to understand her clearly because they are blinded by the fear that maybe their child won’t be able to survive the adult world.

The label of laziness makes teenagers feel bad about themselves which has many consequences. In the previously quoted Psychology Today article, psychologist Carl E Pickhardt says, “Being labeled or believing one is lazy lowers self-esteem.” If a teenager is working really hard but they are labeled lazy, they might be put down and think that they really are lazy, when in fact, they aren’t. This can affect a teenager’s mood by making them think that they are never good enough. This mindset is unhealthy. Pickhardt also says, “‘...lazy’ is shorthand for the longer and more damaging name that is implied which the teenager knows very well is ‘lazy good-for-nothing.’ How low is that? She wants to be ‘good for something.’” If the two people closest to her indirectly state that she has no value in society then, she might believe that this is true. The consequences of believing she’s good-for-nothing could be things like depression, self-harm, or substance abuse.

That morning, when I woke up late, I felt good, even after my mom had called me lazy. I knew she was just teasing. But, if you repeatedly use that label because you fear your child will fail to survive in the adult world, it can lower a teenager’s self-esteem. Teenagers with low self-esteem are prone to depression or substance abuse. Parents shouldn’t worry if their teenager is waking up late because their biological clock is set to go to sleep later and wake up later. Parents should provide emotional support and make their teenagers feel good about themselves. If they feel good about themselves, they are enabled to be productive and creative, which the “lazy” label prevents.