dr. ursula steele, sue govier, sandra fowler-brown supporting your child’s resilience terrible,...
TRANSCRIPT
Dr. Ursula Steele, Sue Govier, Sandra Fowler-Brown
Supporting Your Child’s Resilience
Terrible, Troubled, Tempestuous
but…
Terrific Teen Years
Myths About Teenagers• What do you feel like when you have to go through a
group of teenagers standing in front of the entrance to a high school?
• What do you hear relatives, friends and colleagues say about teenagers?
• What kinds of fears do you have as your son or daughter enters the teen years?
• Do you believe you are less important to your child at this age?
What we anticipate governs our actions and shapes our reality.
Anatomy of the Brain• Thickening of the gray matter or the hardwiring of the brain generally
moves from the back to the front as we age.• Increased nerve fiber insulation during adolescence gradually allows for
faster signaling of reception & responses.• Pruning takes place to eliminate underused or weak synapses and
refines the strong ones.
During adolescence the areas of focus in the brain are:• Frontal Lobe: planning, reasoning, movement, emotions (Limbic
System)• Corpus Callosum: signal connection between hemispheres• Cerebellum: Learned physical skills, coordination
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/brain/3d/index.htmlRight click, click open hyperlink
Brain Growth Between 5-20 yrs
Gray Matter ↓ As Synapses are Pruned
Moral Development• The previous slides show how the layer in the
brain, related to moral development, changes dramatically during the teen years. This time offers a huge opportunity to influence the moral development of teens.
• A study by Hill and Swanson (1993) concluded that the more the adolescents they studied thought about their decisions related to morality, the more moral they became and the less they were involved in risk taking behavior
Implications for Parents• Important topics such as sexuality, and morality should be
discussed before they reach adolescence• Talk often and talk every day whenever possible. Have them
talk about moral issues with you and respect them when they give you even a contradictory opinion
• Provide positive feedback that counters the images that media suggests
• Learn about the dangers of media together and become positive and aware consumers
• Make sure that they get adequate sleep and nutrition and have regular medical checkups and model this yourself
• Accept personal feelings and let them know you love them even when they are being rude.
• Stay involved by making your place the hangout for your teen and your teenager’s friends. Get to know the parents of their friends well and keep in touch when it comes to parties or outings.
Alternate Peer Groups• Give your child as many alternate peer groups as
possible so that the peers at school do not become the prime source of relationships for them. This gives the group at school far too much power.
• Eliminate the language around best friends. “Best” means that it is more than the “rest,” and again far too powerful
• Have your child connect with church groups, sports groups, hobby groups, interest groups.
• Try to have your child connect with more than one adult role model through mentorship
Being ForgetfulScenario• Taking a phone message and forgetting to tell you.
Why are they so forgetful?• Sleep deprivation plays a role.• Hormonal and chemical reactions are fluctuating and therefore are not balanced as
effectively as most adults, leading to forgetfulness.• The frontal cortex processes information and by this age is receiving more information then
its development can handle. Neurons are still being pruned or fine tuned to accelerate this process.
How as a parent can you help with this pruning?
What to do: • Consistently ask if there were any messages • Positively model (several times) where to write messages by the phone.
These are just a few ways to help prune their brain.
Taking Risks
• Risk isn’t always bad; in fact, human development would be impossible without it. Our first baby steps were a risk.
• Experimenting with recreational drugs at this age is very real. It can come from the desire to try something new or even pressure from peers.
Why do teenagers take more risks?
• In adolescence there are still developmental gaps in the brain connections of what young people rationally know and what knowledge they actually use in making decisions.
• Being inexperienced in handling new situations like this can lead to poor choices because the brain is still developing in this area. They need to be taught.
What to do: • Talking it over beforehand with people adolescents trust, help teens to understand
situations more thoroughly. Strong mentors for adolescents could be, parents, relatives, family friends and teachers.
• Science has found these positive connections and meaningful discussions prior to risky situations help influence teen decisions.
Why is my teenager so moody?• Dramatic mood fluctuations are related to hormonal changes
and chemical reactions in the brain during puberty• The frontal cortex has an unexpected growth spurt before
puberty which can explain some mood swings.• Teenagers are still developing social skills; they don’t always
see someone else’s point of view nor are they always able to predict the consequences of their actions
• Teenagers are often sleep deprived
The Good News!• Research shows that the continued development and
maturation of the frontal cortex during adolescence does help in regulating moods, solving problems and in the development of more thoughtful behavior
• Mood Swings do settle down after puberty, when the hormones are more regulated
• In the meantime… talk, listen and be understanding, your teenager needs the support and ensure your teenager gets enough sleep!
Community Supports• What support is there for your teenager during these
often difficult times? (These are just a few) Social Service Organizations 1) Alberta Mental Health Help Line 1-877-303-2642(24 hrs) http://www.amhb.ab.ca/Pages/default.aspx counseling 2) Canadian Mental Health Association 297-1700 (S.E.
location) or 297-1737 S.W. location) recreation, education and social support
http://www.cmha.calgary.ab.ca/about/CMHA%20Info.aspx
3) Boys and Girls Clubs of Calgary 276-9981- youth mentorship, recreational opportunities, camps.
http://www.calgaryboysandgirlsclub.ca
4)Big Brothers and Big Sisters 777-3535 - youth mentorship http://www.bbbscalgary.com/bins/index.asp
5) Calgary Family Services 269-9888 group programs for parents/teens,counseling
http://www.calgaryfamilyservices.org
6) YouthLink Calgary Calgary Police Interpretive Centre http://www.youthlinkcalgary.com/safesurf/
The Importance of Mentors• Mentors are concerned, caring adults (young and old)• They offer support, guidance, encouragement• Mentors make connections with teenagers• “You are important and I care what happens to you.”• Research indicates that for students who are academically
at risk, mentors can make a difference• Brings the larger community into the picture
Mentorship opportunities in Calgary
1.Alberta Women's Science Network(teacher to student) http://www.awsn.com
2. Boys and Girls Clubs of Calgary http://www.calgaryboysandgirlsclub.ca
3.Big Brothers and Big Sisters http://www.bbbscalgary.com/bins/index.asp
How Does Sleep Impact Learning?
Sleep deprivation impairs memory and inhibits creativity• Lack of sleep makes it harder to deal with stress and control emotion• Depression can result from chronic sleep deprivation• Immune systems are more susceptible to serious illnesses• Judgement can become impaired
What does research tell us and what can we do?• Research shows: that our brain consolidates and practices what we’ve learned
during the day and after sleep• We learn while we sleep and remember things more easily after a good sleep• In adolescence our internal body clock slows down, but we can be adjusted with
regular bedtimes.• Teenagers need nine to nine and a half hours of sleep but get on average six and
a halfHelpful Sleep Tips:• We can establish effective sleep hygiene tips such as: stay away from stimulants
after noon, avoid heavy studying or activity before bed, turn off computers and tv’s in the bedroom, establish a reasonable schedule for your teenager, allow sleeping in on the weekend, but not more than 2-3 hrs. later than their usual waking time
• http://www.sleepfoundation.org/site/c.huIXKjM0IxF/b.2418863/k.94BD/Teens_and_Sleep.htm
Questions and FeedbackPlease send your questions and
comments about this presentation to the Stanley Jones Mailbox at
References
*Slide 4: NIH/National Institute Of Mental Health (2004, May 18).
Imaging Study Shows Brain maturing.
ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 8, 2008, NIH/National Institute Of Mental Health (2004,
May 18). http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/
shows/teenbrain/view/
It takes two to speak the truth,-one to speak and another to hear.
Henry David Thoreau