The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults   Import  Single ASIN  Import

5 reviews for The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults   Import  Single ASIN  Import

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Kiwiflora – 26 March 2015

   
   Review copy provided by Harper Collins Publishers NZ via Booksellers NZ.The teenage brain? What sort of word trickery is that? Well, all logic tells you there is a brain of course, nestling inside the head of that child of yours, but it is not a brain, Jim, as we know it. And that is the totally bizarre thing about teenagers – after all we were all one once angst ridden, tormented, self absorbed, idealistic, misunderstood, unloved – so you think we would have no problem some years down the track dealing with our own teenager’s tormented souls. And that is the conumdrum of it all. Our brains, unbeknown to us, moved on from being teenage brains somewhere in our 20s (hopefully), maybe by our 30s (more likely). But now that our wiring is different, we have no understanding really on what is going on in our darlings’ brains.This book attempts to redress this lack of knowledge and understanding to us – parents, teachers, other significant grown ups. Frances Jensen is a professor of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania. Blessedly, she is also the parent of two fine sounding young men who were once teenagers. It would seem, from her biography blurb at the back of this book, that she is a specialist in the developing brain and age specific therapies. So, not so much a handbook on how to deal with your teenager(s), more a handbook on what is going on inside their heads and so lead to some understanding. So this may seem like a medical book and not for the average teen parent, but it is extremely readable, probably because it was co-authored with a Pulitzer Prize winning science writer who writes for the Washington Post and so well used to turning medical language/concepts/theories etc into everday language for us mere mortals.There is plenty of brain terminology in this book – amygdala, frontal cortex, cortical map, hippocampus, hypothalamus, myelin, how they all work, how they change and interact with each other during the teen years to produce a different type of brain at the end of it all. And most importantly how all these changes lead to and directly cause the behaviours that we see so frequently in our teens – their flawed decision making, impulsiveness, inability to be rational, sensible, that boys’ brains are different from girls’ brains, why their body clock is out of whack. As I have said, Ms Jensen is a scientist, not a psychologist, so not much in this book on how to deal with teenagers. But I found myself regularly referring to NZ psychologist and author Nigel Latta’s writings on parenting teenagers, with his Mad Uncle Jacks and Mad Aunt Janes, which gives plenty of advice on dealing with all this weird and alarming brain change. So I think the two complement each other very nicely.There were some sections of medical terminology and explanation when I felt my eyes glazing over, but throughout the book the authors are constantly referencing the biology with the evidence, that is what we see, and so it does all gradually come together, and I do know a lot more about the functioning of the brain than previously.A lot of issues are covered in this book that affect teenagers differently from children and adults. How the brain learns, sleep patterns, risk taking, the effects of alcohol and cannabis, mental illness and the digital invasion. The two chapters that I found the most alarming and that I think all parents should have an understanding of are stress and its impact on teenage wellbeing, and the danger of sports and concussions. This book is written by an American and published in America, but many of the issues in high schools and colleges there are also in New Zealand schools. With an 18 year old and a 20 year old, our time in the dark, never ending teenage tunnel is thankfully nearing an end, and the light is getting brighter and closer. But there is an increasing obsession in our schools to be the best in sport and/or academics to the detriment of the students supposedly earning that glory. As these two chapters reveal, the impact of this endless race to the top can take a serious toll on our young ones, physically, mentally and emotionally. As parents, the ones closest to our teens, we really do need to be mindful of how things can go wrong inside their heads that may take some time to actually show up.There is a lot of very good stuff in this book, reading it will certainly increase your arsenal of information about teenagers, and hopefully your understanding and communication with them.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Nicole S. – 15 June 2022

   A Must-Read for ALL Parents and Teachers!!!
   The Teenage Brain by Frances E. Jensen is a rollercoaster read. My emotions were all over the place. As a mom to a 10-year-old, I can honestly say I feel overwhelmed by what is to come. And. if I’m honest, what is already here. I highly recommend this book to parents with kids of ALL ages. In fact, if you are a parent of young kids, get this book immediately so you are better prepared for what your kids will go through as teens. I appreciate the scientific explanations behind all the things happening in teen brains. I really like how Jensen, a scientist, writes this book in a manner that is wholly accessible to parents of all ages, backgrounds, and education levels. This book makes sense even when it’s discussing technical science and physiology. The info in this book will stick with me LONG after having read the final page. I do recommend purchasing a physical copy of this book so you can take notes and mark pages. You will definitely want to come back to this book as your kids grow and mature. Overall, this is a truly excellent text. One I think all parents AND teachers must read.I purchased a physical copy of this book via Amazon.com on May 1, 2022, in order to read and review. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   public name – 21 August 2016

   Awesome Book! A must read for any parent….
   I was quite impressed with this book, and found it amazingly articulate from both a science and parent perspective. This book was mentioned by my neurologist at CHOP in a way to describe a “frontal concussion” that my 9 year old son had sustained. With being in the medical field and specializing in adult surgical/trauma/neurosurgery nursing for 10 years, and also raising a 14 year old daughter, I was quickly interested in the subject matter.I expected to dig into a science book filled with all the aspects of the brain which is a subject I love to read. I was pleasantly surprised in the way the subject matter was broken down into information that anyone could read. The statistics and personal experiences made this book a must have for anyone raising a child.In the one week that I have had this book, I was able to understand my son’s injury and his lack of impulse control. I have discussed this book in parts with my daughter, and utilized some of the suggestions. In just a short time, my daughter and I have had full discussions about her brain development, and remarked how I “understand her” now. My daughter has expressed how she realizes she has impulses and does not like the lack of control. Understanding that it is her brain developing has gave her a sense of relief, and she has begun to read this herself in hopes to understand how she is growing.The subject matter on the brain is endless, and neurology is such an amazing field. I enjoyed the facts and statistics, and liked how it stayed on topic. In each of these chapters there was potential to take it in so many different directions with regards to the brain. I was quite impressed that such a complex subject matter was creatively articulated for both parents and medical professions.I really enjoyed this book, and recommend it for anyone who is raising a teenager.

4. 

   Rated 1 out of 5

   Amanda – 11 July 2018

   Save yourself the boredom and the inaccuracies
   All this book really offers is some brain anatomy and a series of different medical research summaries that confirm that teens are indeed everything we already knew them to be – impulsive, reckless etc – because their brains are not fully developed. STOP THE PRESS. I think we all guessed as much.What would have been interesting is recommended strategies for handling teenagers in light of neurological insights about their brains, what they will respond well to, how we can support them at these times. But the author simply tells us1) which region\lobe is responsible for which behaviour type2) a study that proves this region is less developed during teenage years than as adults. Doh.3) a horror story of a teen who did something crazy and died because of behaving that way and she got an email about it4) how well her own children turned out ……….which is apparently down to her superior parenting….but without imparting any information as to what she did in any way differently to the average parent, other than being a neurologist which is clearly second to godliness.Whilst the medical facts offered no enlightenment, I did at least assume they were accurate. Until I got to Page 235 where I discovered the author is prepared to pass off any old nonsense opinion as medical fact. Which of course cast doubt over everything else I’d (drearily) read from her so far. I quote…..”I was reminded of how different it is in England, the country of my parents’ birth, where all students must take a common entrance exam at eleven years of age: if they don’t do well they can’t go on to A levels, and this means they don’t go to college. Education isn’t a right so much as a privilege in the United Kingdom, and because not everyone gets to attend a university, education becomes one more caste system. It’s truly a shame that in England and so many other countries, before a child even reaches puberty, he or she has already been tested, evaluated and judged to be either intellectually worthy or unworthy of higher education. If my sons at ages eleven or twelve or even fifteen or sixteen had been subject to this kind of life-determining tracking I’m not sure they would be the highly successful college-educated men they are today.”Suffice to say she has got all her British terminology muddled and common entrance is taken by less than 5% of British students. It was all the excuse I needed to put the book down.If however, you do want an enlightening and well researched book on this topic, try Tony Little’s “The Intelligent Person’s Guide to Education” which is better researched, broader in what it covers, more practical, more credible and thankfully far less self satisfied than this book.

5. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   SBV – 1 August 2016

   Much needed explanations of transformations in the brain in teenagers, could have provided more on differences between teenagers
   Very good explanation of processes accompanying the development of a teenager from an expert in the field. Well written, easy to understand. Appropriate examples provided for illustration. In addition to details about the development of the brain, covers most topics around the subject such as drug abuse, juvenile crime, and others. The main shortcoming in this reader’s opinion is that it treats teenagers as one monolithic body of people, and describes every one on the same basis. The differences between teenagers going through the same journey are not explained. All humans go through the teenage years. Some find it difficult, some really suffer and develop mental health problems, and others skate through with relative ease. The causes of these differences and how to address them are not provided any coverage. This is what would be of most importance to the target audience of such a book. Also, the book is light on what to do in case of trouble, which is understandable given its main focus. The interested parent would like to know what to do in case of trouble, in situations that require more than an understanding parent, a receptive ear, and genuine concern, especially in cases where the teenager is beyond the stage when he or she is interested in having a conversation with the parent without it degenerating into major arguments and worse. But overall, a very good contribution to the field.