EXTENSION REPORT

UNDERSTANDING THE TEEN BRAIN

It doesn’t matter how smart your teen is or how well he or she scored on the ACT- good judgment isn’t something he or she can excel in.  Not yet at least.  However, learning about teen brain development can help parents understand why their adolescents do the things they do.

According to Jana Martin, Ph.D., a psychologist specializing in adolescents in California, and a spokeswoman for the American Psychological Association, “parents need to realize the rational part of a teen’s brain isn’t fully developed and won’t be until he or she is 25 years old or so.  In fact, recent research has found adult and teen brains work differently. While adults think with the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s rational part, teens process information with the amygdale, the emotional part.  It’s the prefrontal cortex that responds to situations with good judgment and an awareness of long-term consequences.

“The connections between the emotional part of the brain and the decision-making center are in development in teen brains,” says Martin.  This is why when adolescents have been under the influence of overwhelming emotional input, they can’t explain later what they were thinking because they were not thinking as much as they were feeling.

What’s a Parent to Do?

Martin suggests parents implement the following strategies to more easily negotiate the difficult times of the teen years:

• Never forget you’re the most important role model your kids have.  Sure, their friends are important to them, but how you behave and fulfill your responsibilities will have a profound and long-lasting effect on your children.
• Help your children link impulsive thinking with facts by discussing with them possible consequences of their actions.  Doing so helps their brains make these connections.
• Remind your teens that they’re resilient and competent.  “Because they are so focused in the moment, adolescents have trouble seeing they can play a part in changing bad situations,” says Martin.  Reminding them of instances in the past they thought would be devastating but turned out for the best can help.
• Become familiar with things that are important to your teens.  It doesn’t mean you have to like their music, but showing an interest in the things they’re involved in shows them they’re important to you.
• Ask teens if they want you to respond when they come to you with problems or they just want you to listen.  “Parents have a tendency to jump in with advice in an attempt to fix the problem or place blame,” says Martin.  Doing so may make teens less likely to be open with their parents in the future.  You want to make it emotionally safe and easy for them to come to you so you can be a part of their lives.  According to Martin, teens need their parents’ guidance, even though they may think they don’t.  Understanding their development can help you support them in becoming independent, responsible adults.   

Credit to the following: Barbara Floria of Vitality Magazine and Jana Martin, Ph.D.~ psychologist and spokeswoman for the American Psychological Association.

Footnote:  Now you can support 4-H when you complete your state income tax.  Alabama 4-H has been added to the charities listed on income tax forms.  All you have to do is check box 31K to direct part or all of your tax refund to Alabama 4-H.  Alabama 4-H is a youth education organization that provides programs and activities for youth in rural and urban settings through after-school programs, community/special interest clubs and other events.

Email address: cknowlto@aces.edu
Phone number: 937-7176 or 943-5611, 928-0860, ext. 2222

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work in agriculture and home economics, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, and other related acts, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M University and Auburn University) offers educational programs, materials, and equal opportunity employment to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability.