I’ve often wondered what happens to the brain at age 16 or 17 that makes it move to a different beat. Apparently, science has recently answered that question!
My husband told me that he heard a National Public Radio report yesterday a.m. that explained a variety of teenage behavior (you can see the new story in its entirety at: http://www.wbur.org/npr/124119468).
The phrase that caught me is one I sometimes use with my own 17-year old, in which one of the parents profiled talked about her mantra with her son being, “What were you thinking?!”. This particular parent, Frances Jensen, who is also a Harvard researcher, decided to explore what makes teenagers act as they do – and her results were fascinating.
As the NPR report indicates, ”Jensen says scientists used to think human brain development was pretty complete by age 10. Or as she puts it, that ‘a teenage brain is just an adult brain with fewer miles on it.’ But it’s not. To begin with, she says, a crucial part of the brain — the frontal lobes — are not fully connected.
This also may explain why teenagers often seem so maddeningly self-centered. ‘You think of them as these surly, rude, selfish people,’ Jensen says. ‘Well, actually, that’s the developmental stage they’re at. They aren’t yet at that place where they’re thinking about — or capable, necessarily, of thinking about the effects of their behavior on other people. That requires insight.’ And insight requires — that’s right — a fully connected frontal lobe.
This was a fun topic of conversation over dinner between my husband, my son and I…and we resolved in the end that if the above is true, we’re actually luckier than most…so next time I hear myself saying “What were you thinking?!?”, I’m going to try and count to ten first…
How interesting! Oh my – those teenage years scare me to death. I remember what it was like going through them (with two younger siblings soon following)…and can’t imagine how my mother survived. I think I like having young kids right now.
I will certainly keep that in the back of my mind – though I doubt if one of my kiddos partakes in the inevitable teenage adventure I’ll be able to refrain from that lovely “What Were You THINKING?!” Breathe, breathe…