Seven Important Facts To Know About Your Teen's Brain

When you have issues with your teens it's really impossible to get them out of your mind even while at work. The truth is that you think about them more when they are "out of sight".

Many parents are already dreading the adolescent years and would really like to "wish this phase away" but is it that bad really?

A little information on what goes on in a teen's brain would go a long way in helping parents understand the importance of creating a conducive environment. An environment where your teen can explore and experiment while also setting boundaries that protect them from destructive behaviour.

Many parents actually wake up to find "strangers" in their homes during this adolescent period. But the truth is that genes, childhood experiences and the environment in which a teen develops are all involved in shaping behaviour.
So if you don't want to "cope with a stranger" you have to be actively involved in your child's development.

The US National Institute of Mental Health carried out an interesting research on the human brain from childhood to adulthood and discovered that the adolescent brain is actually still "work in progress".


Here are Seven important facts about the adolescent brain that are helpful to know:

1) The brain doesn't begin to resemble that of an adult until early 20s.

2)  Areas of the brain involved in basic functions like processing information from the senses and controlling movement mature first. Other areas responsible for controlling impulses and planning ahead are among the last parts to mature.

3) The response of teens to emotionally loaded images and situations are more intense when compared with younger children and adults.

4) The reproductive hormones don't only shape sex-related growth and behaviour but the overall social behaviour of teens.

5) The intellectual power of the adolescent brain matches that of the adult brain.

6) The adolescent brain also experiences changes that affect sleep regulation; probably explains why teens stay up late. This sleep deprivation ends up causing irritability and depression.

7) The parts of the adolescent brain involved in emotional responses are more active than that of the adult brain while the parts that are involved in keeping these emotional and impulsive responses in check are still developing.

It is really clear, from these facts, that this is not the period to turn your backs on your children and expect them to just "know"...We, as parents need to understand our teens abilities and vulnerabilities and guide them through.

This is where the work is as a parent and it is always better to start early in childhood, don't wait till you see the "stranger".

Your teens need you, contrary to what you may have thought.