Child’s brains grow massively in the first 5-6 years of life. Their brains already grow 90-95% of the adult size by the age of six. However, it still needs intensive remodeling that happens during teenage. These changes in the brain depend upon age, development process, learning, experience, and hormonal changes during puberty. All teenagers’ brains develop in almost the same way, although the difference is just about being started too early or too late. Also, the most influencing factors are how parents spend time in activities with them.
Inside of a Healthy Teenage Brain
Teenage is a significant growth phase. All the connections are stimulated and strengthened to make the brain more efficient and smart. The principle works best here is “use it or lose it.” The development starts from the backside of the brain following to the frontal part, prefrontal cortex and then to lateral part.
The prefrontal cortex is responsible for decision making. It helps the child to plan, think, control impulses, and solve problems. The changes are completed by the age of 20. During the development process, the second part of the brain called Amygdala enables them to make decisions. It is also associated with emotions, including aggression, impulses, fear, and instinctive behaviors.
Tips To Stimulate A Healthy Teen Brain
Its brain and environmental factors influence the way a child thinks acts and feels. The time teenagers spend doing different activities decides how the brain is going to develop. Hence, it is crucial to think about the events and experiences a child is into. Also, how parents help child leads to build a healthy brain. Below are some tips to stimulate the teen brain from findings in neuroscience.
1. Behavioral strategies
Help your child to get expressive and give them way-outs to convey their feelings. They may be hiding their emotions. Sports, writing, music, and other forms of arts can be beneficial outlets for them to get expressive.
Let them take some healthy risks. New experiences make them healthy, independent, and enable them to explore their identity. This helps explore grown-up behaviors, as well.
Talk to your child step by step through decisions and ask about the actions they choose. Talk with them through potential consequences. Encourage your child to take positive outcomes.
Model family values and routines to show your child life structures based upon scheduling creating timetables. Hence, be a positive role model.
Provide them with boundaries for negotiating opportunities. As they are immature and young, they will be needing limit-setting and guidance to precede in their life stages.
Praise them for their good deeds. Give them positive rewards for desired behaviors. Reward and feedback system will reinforce goodwill pathways in their mind.
Keep an eye on your child. Watch their activities, reactions, actions, and friends circle. Stay connected, open, and approachable with your kid to help you guide them well.
Understand the importance of their growth phase. Talk with them about developing their brain. This will help them to process their feelings.
2. Thought processing strategies
- Encourage developing sympathy and empathy in them. Let them understand and acknowledge that everyone has different circumstances and perspectives. Talk about a different set of feelings and how others may get affected by them.
Keep your language level accessible and understandable for them. Try to match with their mindset. Try to make a persuasive communication pattern to check for their understanding and knowledge.
Work with them through the development process of problem-solving and decision making. Define different scenarios to them, list options, consider outcomes, and get to the results everyone will be happy with.
3. Risk management strategies
Teenagers don’t have soft judgmental and self-control skills. Modeling risk management strategies will help them to recognize their impulsive and risk dealing behaviors. Also, motivate them to choose live options and take some healthy risks.
Let them participate in sports and encourage them to travel or plan activities like camping and swimming. This will also prevent them from being involved in negativity like alcohol or drugs. Hence, as there is a variety of changes happening to your child, it is essential to protect them while nurturing.
4. Stress management strategies
Poor mental health is vulnerable to induce stress factors. Moving house, losing a family member, new school, or significant life events trigger stress anxiety and even depression.
Stay connected with your child by involving in their daily lives. Guide them to cope up with stress. Make sure that your child takes you as a person; he/she loves to talk and share even if these things are uncomfortable and embarrassing.
Wrap up
Every child is different and develops differently. Following the above tips will help you to understand their thinking patterns thoroughly, thought processing, and behavioral changes. By this, you will help them to get over many problems and provide them with useful solutions. Be a role model and guide them to be a better person in the future. If you need a referral, do make a nursing dissertation and don’t hesitate to consult a professional psychologist.
Author Bio:
Amanda Jerelyn is a passionate writer and professional psychologist. She loves to work with different NGO’s and counseling people. Currently, Amanda is working as an academic advisor at Academist Help.
