www.womanthismonth.com 51 September 2014 Teenagers use the back of the brain more than the frontal lobes away. We are left with the choices that uniquely define us as individuals. The ability to control risky behaviour is still under construction and the nucleus accumbens that seeks pleasure and reward is fairly well developed. Risky decisions Dr Jay Giedd of the National Institute of Mental Health in the USA, noted, “This radical behaviour is also due to that the brain regions which put the brakes on risky behaviour are still under construction. During the time of puberty, testosterone-like hormones that are released by adrenal glands will begin to circulate and cause receptors everywhere in the brain. This process then causes an exerting and direct influence of serotonin and other neurochemicals that regulate mood and excitability to hit the teen-brain like a train. These emotions and waves of thrill seeking are what put teenagers at risk.” Studies have shown that teenagers use the back of the brain more than the frontal lobes. When they use the frontal lobe, they overdo it. This is why most adults can arrive at a decision more quickly than many teenagers. What you can do This work is still very much at research stage and new findings and developments are still being drawn out, but my underlying recommendation to you is to use this knowledge to try and understand your wayward teenager and how mixed up they feel. It is a cruel irony that when a young mind is at its most vulnerable, it is also most likely to experiment with drugs. An explanation of the brain functions at this stage, if properly articulated, makes a compelling argument to a young teenager that any experimentation with drugs at this stage will have an ongoing effect for the rest of their lives. Allow them to make mistakes, give them a safe environment where it is okay to make mistakes and to talk about it. Work with them to find the lessons that can be learned and help them to see alternative strategies and how these may be preferable. Ask your teenagers lots of questions that challenge their thinking and encourage them to try other sports and the arts. It is also useful to support them with items they are still developing, such as organising their time, creating structure, helping them through tough decisions, creating strategies for problem solving and doing what a parent does best — supplying copious amounts of patience and love. Remember to try and work on equal power relations instead of imposing your views on them. The bottom line? Let them be teenagers! Interesting facts Male brains are usually 10 per cent larger than female brains, but this does not confer any advantage as the difference is due to different parts being larger or smaller. Interestingly, females generally have a larger basal ganglia, which relates to executive functioning and the general trend observed is for girls’ brains to mature earlier than boys’ brains. Mike Jackson is a product of the English public school system followed by the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He has been involved in business transformation for the past 30 years and is a seasoned project manager having successfully delivered a number of large enterprise wide implementations/changes across the globe. Mike has been working in the Middle East for the past eight years and has recently developed a coaching aspect to his consultancy as an organisational executive coach, implementing corporate transformation programmes with embedded coaching to support the transition. g
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