Decoding a teen’s brain, is it possible?

Understand the transformation in the growing-up years and lay the foundation for respectful and responsible behavior for the future.

One of the most frequent complaints one hears from parents of pre-teens and teenagers is, “He is so rude to me”, or “she is so cutting and insolent”. Most parents find the transformation of their sweet child into this whippersnapper, confusing and difficult to cope with.

Teen beans.

Research has shown that several factors play a part in bringing about this change. The most compelling being the change in the pre-teen brain. From roughly the age of ten, the brain starts ‘pruning’ its synaptic connections. (Imagine a gardener trimming down a tree to make it healthier and robust). During this process as many as 30,000 synapses may be lost per second in the early adolescent brain leading to an ultimate loss of almost one half of the synapses that were present in the pre-adolescent period.

During this pruning phase, the part of the brain that is last to develop is the prefrontal cortex – the clear thinking and decision-making part of the brain. However, the emotional part of the brain – the limbic system and the amygdala are alive and kicking. In simpler terms, imagine the teen brain as a powerful car with Continue reading “Facts about Teen’s Brain……” »