Getting Smarter about the Teen Journey

My current passionate interest is what I call the "teen journey." This is what a young person experiences from age 12 to 22, when the all-important pre-frontal lobes of the brain are developing. This is the part of the brain that performs the kind of thought that makes a person successful in the adult world.

At a time when they are developing adult bodies, their adult brains are slowly forming. It's a time of confusion, mistakes, pain and danger. Kids are questioning everything, and yet don't have the capacity for analytical thinking or self-management. They often turn to alcohol or drugs, which can do permanent brain damage during a delicate developmental period - not to mention get them in a ton of trouble.

Somehow, they need great parenting, teaching, coaching and luck. The first three supports are often not there, and luck is...uh, well, chancy...so the journey is perilous. Some don't make it through. Many make it through with some damage. The hope is to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to establish a foundation for critical thinking.

I've studied brain development for years. Now I'm addressing it in my work. This week I've started reading some of the popular books on the topic. In case you're interested...

Dr. Ron Clavier, Teen Brain, Teen Mind: What Parents Need to Know to Sur vive the Adolescent Years , 2nd Ed. (Toronto: Key Porter, 2009)

Sheryl Feinstein, Parenting the Teenage Brain: Understanding a Work in Progress (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2007)

Sheryl G. Feinstein, Secrets of the Teenage Brain: Research-Based Strategies for Reaching and Teaching Today’s Adolescents, 2nd Ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2009)

Barbara Strauch, The Primal Teen: What the New Discoveries about the Teenage Brain Tell Us about Our Kids, 2nd Ed. (New York: Anchor, 2003)

David Walsh, Ph.D. Why Do They Act That Way? A Survival Guide to the Adolescent Brain for You and Your Teen (New York: Free Press, 2004)

In case you're interested, I've found the last one the most informative and enjoyable.

Along the way, I've been fascinated by the fact that each person's teen journey story is dramatic and unique - what happened to them, what influenced them, how it turned out. I've started collecting these personal stories for a book on the topic - anonymous, of course.

Any volunteers?

Post by Dennis E. Coates, Ph.D., Copyright 2010. Building Personal Strength . (Permission to use photo purchased from istockphoto.com)