The Teenage Brain: A Guide to understanding what we've forgotten

This was such a great book.  It’s not so much a “parenting” book as it is a reference guide for parents or anyone who works with kids age 11-25.  A reference to what?  To the brain of an adolescent.  Honestly, it should be called "The Teenage Brain: Why They Seem Like Idiots"

First of all - I had no idea the adolescent brain started at age 11 and ended at age 25.  This explains SO much about some of the people we hire at work right out of school!  If you have a child entering the pre-teen years, in their teens, early twenties, or if you work with people in their early twenties, I highly recommend you give this a go.

Let's face it - we all remember thinking we knew more than our parents.  We know there are hormones and risk taking behaviours that come with the teenage years, it's a time when you become your own person, separate from your parents, etc.  But as a parent, on the other side of the adolescent relationship - I feel completely blindsided everyday, over and over again.  This book helps me keep perspective - it's not him, it's his biology, his frontal cortex is not developed yet.  It will pass.

There are parts of the book that are heavy on the science-based research side, but I found the explanations really helpful to maintain a calm perspective with my 13 year old. Knowing things like the the melatonin levels of teenagers shift from 8pm to 11pm (or even 1am) helped my husband and I to come to an understanding with our son about sleep schedules. Lots of helpful info, especially if you are an analytical thinker who likes to understand the “why”.

I also like that each chapter focuses on a different "challenge".  I skipped the Tabacco and the Hard-Core Drugs chapters as these aren't relevant to us (at least not at the present time).  I found the chapters on Sleep, Learning, Stress and Gender quite interesting.  As you can see from the pictures, I've dog-eared, underlined and highlighted quite a few pages.

I highly recommend this book.  My doctor has read it and quotes it every time I take my son in for something, the Youth Counsellor and Heath Department nurse at our local high school has read it and gave a workshop on it - it seems to be everywhere lately.