The Motivation Crisis
BOOK
COMING SOON
Why can a child spend hours focused on a video game, yet struggle to complete ten minutes of homework?
Why are more children being described as distracted, oppositional, anxious, unmotivated, and disengaged than ever before?
And what if the problem isn't the children?
The Motivation Crisis didn't begin as a book.
It began with parents sitting in an office.
Exhausted. Frustrated. Heartbroken.
They had been told their child was oppositional. Distracted. Unmotivated.
That they refused to do their work. That they were failing classes. That they couldn't read, write, spell, or do basic math.
But then something unexpected would happen.
That same child would sit down, connect, engage, and suddenly begin reading, writing, spelling, solving problems, and answering questions.
The skills were there all along. These children knew how to do the work.
They simply weren't demonstrating those skills in the environments where they were being asked to use them.
As a behavior analyst, this distinction is critical.
It wasn't a skill deficit. It was a performance deficit.
The question wasn't, "Can they do it?"
The question was, "Why aren't they doing it?"
That question changed everything.
Drawing from behavioral science, psychology, neuroscience, education, and years of experience as a BCBA, parent, educator, and school board member, Catey Rice challenges the growing belief that today's children simply lack motivation.
Instead, she reveals a powerful truth:
Kids aren't unmotivated. They're perfectly motivated for the environments that reward them most effectively.
As technology delivers constant stimulation, instant rewards, endless entertainment, and immediate feedback, traditional systems struggle to compete. Parents are overwhelmed. Teachers are exhausted. Children are increasingly disconnected from the relationships, experiences, and challenges that once shaped resilience, communication, and engagement.
The result is a generation of children who are often labeled before they are understood.
Through compelling stories, practical examples, and an easy-to-understand framework grounded in behavior science, The Motivation Crisis explores:
• Why motivation is built, not found
• The hidden relationship between reinforcement, effort, and behavior
• How technology has fundamentally changed the motivational landscape
• Why motivation matters whether a child is learning a new skill or demonstrating an existing one
• The connection between engagement, behavior, learning, and mental health
• What parents, educators, and professionals can do to rebuild motivation, connection, and resilience
This is not a book about blaming children, parents, teachers, schools, or technology.
It is a book about understanding human behavior in a rapidly changing world.
Because if we want different outcomes for our children, we must first understand the environments shaping them.
And because motivation is not something children either have or don't have. It's something we build.