The mysterious workings of the ADOLESCENT BRAIN- TED Talk by Sarah-Jayne Blakemore

For my dear husband and all the other parents out there who have a teenager (or maybe four, as in our case) in the house and just. do. not. get. whattheywerethinking when (insert behavior here)!!

When as parents we ask "Did you think about this?  Did you even use your brain?", sometimes teenagers' brains are busy pruning unused synaptic nerves, and they are just not developmentally ready to consider all the consequences or use the thoughtful judgment that you and I (as adults) are capable of (most of time...hehee). It's true! But don't worry, in this valuable TED Talk, Sarah-Jayne Blakemore assures us that it'll all fall in place.... By the time your precious little one is TWENTY-FOUR (choke, cough) he or she will hopefully be through with adolescence and able to maintain a "stable, independent role in society." THAT's the goal, right folks? (Have I mentioned that the 'experts' are adding a new 'life-cycle stage' in which adult children in their mid-twenties move back in with their parents due to it taking longer for young adults to become self-supporting in today's economy?...Some are calling it "economic adolescence"... that's another blog entry).

This vid is about 15 minutes, but well worth the watch. Since initially watching it a few months ago, I have referred back to it several times.... to remind myself of where my darlings are at developmentally. Seriously good info here!

Intentionally yours,

Lisa