Understanding The brain of A Teenager And How to help them Cope

The mind of a teenager and an adult function differently. While adults tend to have a logical approach to things, teenagers tend to be more emotional. This is the main reason why adults tend to behave rationally, whereas teenagers are affected by their feelings. It is important to dig deeper into this to form a healthy relationship between children and their parents.

The consequences of Thinking Differently

As discussed above, parents and children think differently. This has also been proved scientifically since the thought process of an adult involves the prefrontal cortex, i.e, the rational part of the brain, whereas, teenagers think with the emotional part of the brain, i.e, the amygdala.

Due to this simple difference, teenagers might feel that adults don’t understand them. This can create an emotional barrier between parents and their children. The teens might stop discussing their problems with their parents and could end up behaving recklessly. They can also put themselves in dangerous or unpleasant situations since they lack rationality and are also not seeking their parent’s advice as well.

The consequences of this emotional barrier could be terrible. Even if it doesn’t result in any grave consequences, it will still affect the development of your children.

Understanding the mindset of a teenager

It is important to understand your child and know what is going on in their mind. The barriers created by the difference in your mentality could affect the relationship between you and your child negatively. Someone has to take a step towards breaking this barrier and it has to be the parents since they can think rationally and make wise decisions.

Since you are the one who the children learn from, you need to fulfill all your responsibilities properly and give your child a good example. They will learn from you and discuss their problems with you if you can understand them.

What should parents do?

Try to bring positivity to your thought-process and also encourage your children to do the same. Your main objective is to promote rational thinking skills.

You should always be there to listen to your child’s problems. Try not to judge them and don’t ask them questions that will make them think that you do not understand them.

You should give them advice whenever they seek your help and if you do not do this, they will stop consulting you.

Encourage your children to develop healthy habits and lead a good lifestyle by introducing good sleep habits, engaging in physical activities, playing games, doing adventurous activities, learning through experience, studying, etc. However, you should not force your children to do these things as they will feel pressured.

The main objective of these activities is to ensure that your child doesn’t feel burdened and can easily share their problems with you. This will result in a healthy relationship between you and your child. It will also help them become a better and mature person.