How to get into the head of a teenager: a neuroscientist explains
Parents expect teens' actions to match their developed bodies. But they won't always.
For parents of teenagers, the start of a new academic year can often usher in old problems: Procrastination, impulsiveness, staying up until all hours of the night - and then not getting up in time for school.
This kind of behaviour is disheartening, but there's good news. It's just a developmental phase, and knowing the science behind the teen brain can help you help your child.
"When you use science and fact to explain why they're behaving the way they are," says Frances Jensen, a neuroscientist and author of The Teenage Brain, "it's a way for both of you to feel validated and vindicated."
For years, scientists - and parents - believed the adolescent brain was like an adult brain. In fact, the accepted theory was that brain growth was relatively complete by kindergarten. But science has proven differently. Teens behave the way they do because the part of the brain that controls judgment and emotion - the prefrontal cortex - hasn't developed fully and won't until they reach their 20s.
"Think of the teen brain as a Ferrari with weak brakes. It's revved up, but doesn't always know how to stop," says Jensen, who is chairwoman of the department of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania.
In other words, the teen brain is a work in progress, yet sometimes parents expect teens' actions to match their developed bodies. But they won't always. Here's why: