Parents: Articles and Resources on Adolescents..."My child was never like this before...."

THE TEENAGE BRAIN....

MAJOR GROWTH TAKING PLACE…...Waves of intense branching and connecting followed by reduction in neurons.

Before birth through 3-years-old

Again at 11- or 12-years-old…and continuously growing throughout adolescence.

You might see the same traits that you saw in your child when they were 2-3 years old.

"Middle school is a dress rehearsal. It’s almost always messy, and we worry that it foreshadows a disastrous future for our children. Meaning well, we jump in and initiate, fix and micromanage, telling ourselves we will stop when the child matures enough to take over. But middle school is supposed to be messy. It’s how kids mature. This means making lots of mistakes, then experiencing consequences just strong enough to be an incentive for correction, but not strong enough to damage a life." (Washington Post)

"To raise independent kids, treat middle school like a dress rehearsal for life."

Perspective | To raise independent kids, treat middle school like a dress rehearsal for lifeLet them make mistakes, then experience consequences just strong enough to be an incentive for correction but not strong enough to damage a life.

"It’s not that teens don’t have frontal- lobe capabilities but rather that their signals are not getting to the back of the brain fast enough to regulate their emotions. It’s why risk-taking and impulsive behavior are more common among teens and young adults. This is why peer pressure rules at this time of life, says Jensen. It’s why my teenage boys would come home without their textbook and realize at 8 p.m. that they have a test the next day. They don’t have the fully developed capacity to think ahead at this time.” Time Article

Additional websites

Brain Development

Harvard Magazine Article

Middle School is Toughest on Moms

Common Traits Middle School Students can struggle with... (frontal lobe)

Organization of multiple tasksImpulse inhibitionSelf controlEmpathizing with othersInitiating appropriate behaviorMaking sound judgmentsForming StrategiesPlanning aheadAdjusting behavior when situation changesStopping an activity upon completionInsight

Parents: Articles and Resources on Adolescents..."My child was never like this before...."

THE TEENAGE BRAIN....

"To raise independent kids, treat middle school like a dress rehearsal for life."

Additional websites

Common Traits Middle School Students can struggle with... (frontal lobe)

Common Traits Middle School Students can struggle with... (frontal lobe)