The Teenage Brain

Research shows that the frontal part of the brain has not completely matured until the age of 20-22. This part of the brain is among other things responsible for predicting the consequences of your actions. The blue areas in the picture you see to the right at this page, are the areas of the brain which have matured the most.

The cells of the immature brain also become dependent on stimulants faster (read about toxin-free brains).

So even though teenagers are on their way to adulthood, in body as well as mind, they still need the protection and support of adults in order to avoid getting involved in something they will bitterly regret later on in life.

Love is also when adults in a proper way help teenagers making the right decisions for their lives – and this is actually something most teenageres wish adults to do.

It´s well described by a 13-year-old boy who said: “Parents should be firm – you can’t play ball up against a curtain”.

It is best if groups of teenagers make these decisions in a respectful collaboration with their parents and teachers. It is definitely not easy for a teenager or a parent to stand alone and do things differently from the majority of the group.

This is simply because social norms are some of the strongest forces in our lives – they are the ‘rails’ of our inner world model on which our thought-trains run (read: The story of a mind-train).

If we do not work together and make decisions as to how we want to live in collaboration with each other, social norms could develop in a direction that is completely different from what we really want for ourselves.