Teenage Emotion – a case of the developing brain

Often overlooked, the teenage brain undergoes one of its most important and significant developments – some argue more significant than early childhood – the remodelling of the child brain into the adult brain and the emergence of the Abstract Thinking Developmental Stage (Piaget). Adolescents begin to think outside the box, think more logically and think more about their future. Remodelling of the brain involves pruning away unneeded childhood grey matter, while strengthening new connections. The use it or lose it saying applies here as the brain prunes away connections no longer needed, and reinforces new connections based on new and current environmental experiences. The teenager’s preferred activities begin to be hardwired into the brain. 

The pruning starts from the back of the brain, and works slowly forward with the prefrontal cortex being the last to develop, sometimes into the 30th year of life. The prefrontal cortex is the brains planning, organising and reasoning centre. So the contrast between “mature” back of the brain skills and the “immature” under-developed prefrontal cortex can make parents wonder how their child can switch from being mature to being childlike so quickly. 

As a substitute to the prefrontal cortex, teenagers are left to rely on their fight or flight centre of the brain (the Amygdala) to make decisions and solve problems. This can explain teenager’s intense emotions, aggression, impulsivity and preference for risk taking behaviour.

Tips and strategies to support this time in an adolescent’s life:

• Let your child take some healthy risks. Any time an adolescent does something new and different, it is seen as a risk. Healthy risks help adolescents develop an independent identity, explore grown-up behaviour, and move towards adulthood.
• Learn to identify and name emotions. State “I have this feeling of [insert emotion]” rather than stating “I am [insert emotion]”.
• Find new creative and expressive outlets for feelings. Watching sport or music, writing and other art forms are good outlets. 
• Develop a list of interests, activities and hobbies – especially if these have a social aspect. Teenagers’ independence relies on their social network. 
• Talk through decisions step by step. What possible courses of action might you choose, and think through potential consequences. Weigh up positive consequences or rewards against negative ones.
• Family, social, sport, work, school and extracurricular routines give structure to life.
• Provide boundaries AND opportunities for negotiating those boundaries. Young people need guidance and limit-setting from their parents and other adults.
• Frequent praise and positive rewards for desired behaviour reinforces pathways in the developing brain.
• Find a positive role model to model what behaviour is expected.
• Parents should stay connected with their child. Being open and approachable can help you help them solve their difficulties.
• Talk with your child about their developing brain. Understanding this important period of growth might help your child process their feelings. It might also make taking care of the brain more interesting for your child.
• Encourage Sleep! Ensure your child has a comfortable, quiet sleep environment and can ‘wind down’ before bed, away from screens including phones. A regular sleep pattern will help to get 8-10 hours of sleep each night.