The video below is a must watch TED Talk for anyone who cares about, works/serves with, and/or is raising adolescents. TED offers the following introduction:
Why do teenagers seem so much more impulsive, so much less self-aware than grown-ups? Cognitive neuroscientist Sarah-Jayne Blakemore compares the prefrontal cortex in adolescents to that of adults, to show us how typically “teenage” behavior is caused by the growing and developing brain.
So What?
Blakemore provides many helpful insights into adolescent brain development, including:
- The ability to take into account someone else’s perspective in order to guide ongoing behavior . . . is still developing in mid to late adolescence.
- They (adolescents) take more risks than children or adults and they are particularly prone to taking risks when they are with their friends.
- So what’s sometimes seen as the problem with adolescents — heightened risk-taking, poor impulse control, self-consciousness — shouldn’t be stigmatized. It actually reflects changes in the brain that provide an excellent opportunity for education.
How does the data contained in this video impact how you relate to the adolescents in your life? Is this basic information included in volunteer training in your congregation’s youth ministry/program?