JUVENILE
This is a period of life where the brain is the most adaptable and malleable which makes a great opportunity for education, rehabilitation, and intervention.
A Deeper Understanding
Teenagers are for the most part demonized and made fun of for their moody, impulsive, and very self-conscious behavior. However, this is a period of life where the brain is the most adaptable and malleable which makes a great opportunity for education, rehabilitation, and intervention. What sometimes is seen as a problem it’s in reality a great opportunity for learning, creativity, and social development.
Kids at this age go through so many changes in their overall development that, for most of us, it becomes an exhaustive task just in trying to understand why they do what they do. They assume to have all figured it out and find adults to be extremely boring.
A research study on teen cognition has shown that teens aren’t just willing to ignore warnings or simply defying parents by engaging in an ever more dangerous behavior. It’s the hypersensitivity on their limbic system ─ part of the brain responsible for emotions, and rewarding system; and the decline in the level of gray matter in their prefrontal cortex ─ the youngest part of the brain responsible for decision-making, self-awareness, planning for the future, and social interaction ─ the main reasons why they behave the way they do. In addition the process of habituation, what we refer as getting used to, also plays an important part in risk taking and risk escalation.
Although a teen’s willingness to seek risks is for the most part a result of brain development, the environment and habituation to risks can change a teen’s brain by causing greater risk-taking. The issue isn’t the positive risks one is willing to take in order to create greater things, but the negative, harmful risks. We’re all born risk takers, and risks if positive should always be encouraged. It’s the combination of the immature brain, the impact of habituation, lack of discipline, and self-control that leads to damaging effects.
A teenager's ability to fit in and find their purpose in the world depends on the support and guidance they get during these crucial years. To navigate this tough time, they need help from people who care about their success. By providing unbiased guidance and unconditional support, we can show them that they don't have to go through this journey alone.