The Teen Brain: 5 Things to Know NOW!

Learning about the developing brain is essential for parents and their adolescent children. The years between the ages of 10 and 19 are a period of unique brain development. Often referred to as the ‘teen brain’ it begs exploration. Understanding how it works can give insight to parents and youth to manage this period of life.

Come explore five teenage brain development facts about the teen brain to better understand how the adolescent and teenage brain works. Included is an online training. The training will  put adult and child  on the same page when it comes to understanding the developing brain. You will be invited to explore the free ‘Teen Brain – Train it Now!’ module later in this article.

1) The teen brain doesn’t mature until after age 25

It’s a common misconception adulthood is reached at age 18 or 21. The truth is that the brain is not fully mature until after age 25. MIT’s Young Adult Development Project takes a deeper dive. The actual changes that impact the developing brain explain a lot about this stage of life.

The brain undergoes a period of significant pruning and remodeling. The organ is deciding what stored information is not important and should be discarded. Likewise, it is determining what is important to store in preparation for adulthood.

To aid in reaching  the best outcome. It is important to help youth keep a vision of the person  they want to become and to work together to detail the goals necessary to reach along the way. Their daily choices should align with that vision. The Center for Parent and Teen Communication offers guidance to help your child understand their potential.

2) The teenage brain is wired for risky behavior

During these growth years, risk-taking is ‘baked in’ at a time when the frontal cortex or judgement area lags behind in development. This can make for a perfect storm in the teen years when the influence of peers becomes extremely important.  In Psychology Today article, Joe Magliano, PhD of  Northern Illinois University, cites the influence of peers in decision-making that reflects risk-taking.

There can be a magnetic attraction to risky behavior and experimentation of drugs and/or alcohol. That is why it’s important to seek drug prevention tools early on. Drug prevention education can help explain the negative outcomes that have life-long effects. Educating teens on the risks of drug use can help them to think twice before engaging in risk-taking activities. Educating parents can help them guide their teen to exciting activities to meet the need for risk-taking safely. Strengthening families is the goal as well as keeping kids off drugs.

It is equally important for the tweens and teens to understand what their brain is going through. This will  help explain how they experience life. The teen who understands how their brain is wired, will have more interest in learning  coping skills – like delaying a decision for 10 minutes or more.

3) Choices made train the developing brain

Choices made during the teenage years are especially important, as they can have a long-lasting impact on the development of the brain. Every decision a teen makes—from the friends they hang out with to their chosen activities—affects the way their brain develops. Choices have consequences.

The decisions teens make regarding risk-taking and drug use can have particularly severe consequences at this time in life. Positive choices, such as volunteering, studying and spending time with family reap rewards.  These types of choices train the brain to make similar decisions in the future. The chemical dopamine in the brain is the ‘feel good’ reward that is triggered by good decisions. A review of the most important decisions in a teen’s life, by Sean Covey at Education.com, expands on more life-changing choices that await every teen.

4) The brain’s reward system can get confused when drugs or alcohol are used

The teen brain’s dopamine reward can easily get confused during this period of brain development. It is a unique period that deserves attention and caution to protect the brain.

The use of drugs and/or alcohol use at this stage produces a profound flood of dopamine. Essentially this strong dopamine feeling suggests “let’s do that again’. It can overtake the impact of dopamine related to positive choices.  This explains why even high achieving youth may succumb to the power of dopamine induced by experimenting with drugs or alcohol and later experience substance use disorder. In a brief video, Dr. Nora Volkow of the National Institute on Drug Abuse explains how the brain can be ‘hijacked’ during the teen years when there is substance use disorder.

5) Sharing the evolving teen brain experience with your child is essential

Sharing the evolving teen brain experience with your child is essential to help them make good decisions and reach their potential. Wouldn’t it be great to give your child an ‘Operators Manual’ for their changing brain? Exploring the teen brain  with your child age 10-19, can prove to be an amusing and educational experience. Think of the many behaviors of your teen that you could relate to the influence of their evolving brain. It can explain a lot about what is happening in their daily life. Having that conversation with your child, and adding a sense of humor, can relieve tension when your child’s choices need adjusting.

Drug prevention education programs in schools are not always coordinated to pair drug prevention with the brain development. Since parents or caregivers have the most influence when it comes to drug prevention, it is important to search for resources to aid in family discussions.

Many of the scientific resources on the maturing teen brain can be overwhelming – well above the ability of understanding for many.  The nonprofit CANDLE, Inc. developed a simple online training titled ‘Teen Brain-Train it Now!’ that parallels training the teen brain with training a pet – all in the pursuit of keeping the brain safe. This analogy is easy to understand for all ages. It is designed for youth as young as ten.

For older youth, approach the training seeking their input as to how much of the training they already knew about. Ask older youth if they feel this information would be helpful to youth in fifth and sixth grade and why or why not etc. For all ages, the ‘Teen Brain-Train it Now!’ online training serves as a discussion starter.

Home schoolers and teachers can obtain the full classroom ‘Teen Brain- Train it Now!’ free, by requesting the downloadable curriculum. Email: RealityTour@candleinc.org