In this day and age, it’s easy to become confused or overwhelmed by the incredibly diverse parenting advice out there. There’s conflicting information coming from many sources and parents of adolescents are left confused by what they should really listen to. When it comes to ‘conventional wisdom’ vs. ‘brain science’, here are a few myths worth noting:

This reminds me of some great advice we have heard before form Clinical Psychologist, Andrew Fuller, who says to “remember that adolescents frontal lobes are “closed for construction”. Expecting teenagers to show a lot of fore thought, planning, consideration and impulse control is like expecting a goldfish to recite Shakespeare”.Andrew reminds us of the important fact that the rational decision-making frontal lobe of the brain is not fully formed until age 25! So, what does that mean for teachers and parents? Here are some of Andrew’s suggestions in managing both the over-activated and under-activated adolescent brain:

Andrew Fuller is a great starting point for parents when looking for advice. Andrew specialises in the wellbeing of young people and their families and is known both locally and internationally for his work with schools and various communities of young people. He has some excellent free resources for parents and students on his website to aide in the development of student’s learning and wellbeing. Andrew’s website and a couple of other helpful sites are listed below for parents looking for some reliable advice. Resources being raisingchildren and mcri.

Laura Fordham