~196~ Why Your Teen Can Game for Hours but Can’t Do Homework: Executive Functioning, Time Blindness & Motivation Anna Levy Warren

<p>#ParentingTeens #TeenParenting #ExecutiveFunctioning #ADHDParenting #NeurodivergentTeens #TeenMentalHealth #TimeBlindness #ParentingADHD #TeenDevelopment #ExecutiveFunctioningSkills #ParentingSupport #NeurodivergentParenting #ParentingPodcast #Teenagers #EducationalAdvocacy</p><p>Have you ever wondered how your teenager can spend hours gaming, scrolling TikTok, or hanging out with friends—but somehow can't get ready for school, start their homework, remember what they need, or get out the door on time?</p><p>And then you find yourself thinking:</p><p><strong>“They can do it when they want to. So why won't they do it?”</strong></p><p>What if the problem isn't motivation, laziness, defiance, or not caring?</p><p>In this episode of <em>Parenting Teens: Advice Redefined for Today's World</em>, I sit down with <strong>Dr. Anna Levy-Warren</strong>, licensed clinical psychologist, speaker, founder of Organizational Tutors, and an expert in executive functioning, to unpack what's really happening underneath these everyday struggles.</p><p>With more than 20 years of experience working in psychology and education—and as a parent herself—Anna brings both professional expertise and lived experience to this conversation.</p><h3>What you'll learn about executive functioning</h3><p>Executive functioning isn't one single skill. It's an interconnected set of cognitive processes that help us manage things like:</p><ul><li>Working memory</li><li>Self-regulation</li><li>Mental flexibility</li><li>Planning</li><li>Task initiation</li><li>Decision-making</li><li>Time management</li><li>Attention</li><li>Organization</li><li>Goal-setting</li></ul><p>And when these skills are developing differently, the impact can show up <strong>everywhere</strong>—not just at school.</p><h3>Why can your teen remember every song but forget three instructions?</h3><p>We talk about the difference between long-term memory and <strong>working memory</strong>, and why a teenager can remember an incredible amount of information but still forget what you just asked them to do.</p><p>“Go get ready for school” might sound like one simple instruction to a parent.</p><p>For a teen with working-memory challenges, it can actually contain a whole series of steps that are difficult to hold onto and execute.</p><h3>Is your teen experiencing time blindness?</h3><p>If you're sitting in the car with the engine running while your teenager is still inside getting ready, this part of the conversation is for you.<