Adolescence - those difficult years between age 11 and 19 - has always been a critical time of intellectual, physical, and emotional development. In fact, the brain has one of its most dramatic growth spurts during this period (second only to infancy).It's during this phase that young people struggle to figure out who they are, while they simultaneously combat social and peer pressure and try to sort through messages that bombard them about what they should do and who they should be. They strive for greater independence, but they also realize that at times they are not ready to handle the responsibility that accompanies that independence."Adolescents start to have the computational and decision-making skills of an adult -if given time and access to information," writes Sheryl Feinstein, author of Parenting the Teenage Brain: Understanding a Work in Progress. "But in the heat of the moment, their decision-making can be overly influenced by emotions, because their brains rely more on the limbic system (the emotional seat of the brain) than the more rational prefrontal cortex."Today's teens face a whole host of issues and concerns, from cheating to sleep, from substance use to homework, from adult interaction to bullying, to name just a few. And, society presents additional challenges - the Internet, social media, and reality TV. As a result, this already-difficult time of life is harder than ever. Life for me as a teenager, without smartphones, Facebook, and Twitter, was easier to navigate.As I often say to colleagues, parents, and even kids: Adolescence was much easier back in the day, and I'm so glad I'm not a teenager today!
