When I was in the 6th grade my English teacher, Ms. Cole, told me I was going to be an author. I don't remember what prompted this but our class was focused on reading classic novels and writing reflective papers. What I do remember is that my young, ultra cool, feminist teacher thought I had the potential to write things other people would read! I couldn't wait to tell my mother when I got home from school. This could be it- this could be the profession for me! As soon as

The words were hard for the 13 year old client sitting across from me in the counseling room. “I want to go but I can’t” she said in practically a whisper. This academically gifted, brand new teenager found herself in the grip of anxiety unable to express herself to her family and friends. She couldn’t describe the feelings or any possible causes. She had no idea how to “make” herself say hello to a person passing by in the hall or respond to a teacher. The idea of a sleepov

Whether teens are dating or not, it's a good idea to talk to them about what a healthy relationship looks like.

The words were hard for the 13 year old client sitting across from me in the counseling room. “I want to go but I can’t” she said in practically a whisper. This academically gifted, brand new teenager found herself in the grip of anxiety unable to express herself to her family and friends. She couldn’t describe the feelings or any possible causes. She had no idea how to “make” herself say hello to a person passing by in the hall or respond to a teacher. The idea of a sleepov

Recently I've been exploring wide-spread and enduring beliefs about teenagers. This month I was thinking about how we as a society often explain the risky behaviour of adolescents, by saying, Oh, they think they're going to live forever, and I wondered, do they really? Teens are infamous for their poor decision making, renowned as reckless drivers and as users of alcohol and drugs. Research reports that forty percent of adolescents didn't use a condom the last time they had s

Recently I've been exploring the myths we tell ourselves about teenagers. Last month, I discussed why we perceive teens as selfish; this month I wanted to put another common complaint under the microscope: teens are lazy. Certainly, they can seem this way. They sleep in late; they put off doing homework, they forget to take out the trash (again); they are more content to play video games than to think about the future. So, what's going on here? Well, to be honest: a lot of th

I love working with teens. I love their optimism, and their energy and their resiliency. I love their way of looking at the world and their ability to be flexible and inquisitive. Often, when I tell adults how much I like being with teens, they roll their eyes and comment on how they don’t see them in the same way. Sometimes they will say, “better you than me,” or “you couldn’t pay me enough to work with teenagers.” Teens are incredibly misunderstood. This is not a new thing.

This summer I wrote a post about how the delayed released of melatonin effects the sleep patterns of teenagers, and why this means all schools should have a delayed start. So imagine my excitement when I heard this report about about what happened in Seattle when they pushed back the start time for school. Grades and attendance both went up! And teens were sleeping more! Have a listen here: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/12/12/676118782/sleepless-no-more-in-se

With Thanksgiving this week, I've been thinking a lot about gratitude. Gratitude can act as a bond between people. If someone has been kind to you, or done you a service, you are naturally inclined to go out of your way for them. Not surprisingly, there is a growing body of research that shows that there is an association between feeling thankful and feeling contented. I find this interesting because as parents, youth workers and teachers we tend to work towards our children'

The CDC's latest Youth Risk Surveillance found that Arkansas was number one in the percentage of teenagers who were bullied on school property, seriously considered suicide, were forced to have sex, and drove drunk. (1) There are many ways to prevent adolescent violence and make our schools and communities safer. First and foremost, we can all educate ourselves about what it is to be bullied. You can learn more about bullying, the consequences it has, and warning signs to wat

This month is National Suicide Prevention Month. Suicide is a growing problem in the United States, no less so among teens than among adults. A report released last summer by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the suicide rates doubling between 2007 and 2015 for adolescent girls, age 15-19, and increasing by 30 percent for adolescent boys in the same age range. (1) Social support and connection can help prevent suicide. The CDC suggests these actions for

In recognition of National Suicide Prevention Month, I wanted to share with you the National Alliance of Mental Health’s tips on preventing suicide. These tips are directed towards adults, but I want to acknowledge that teens are on the front line with their peers, and that they might be the first to notice concerning symptoms. If this is the case, they should confide in a responsible adult and ask for help. “It can be frightening and intimidating when a loved one reveals or

All this summer I’ve been exploring the effects of the developing adolescent brain on adolescent behaviour. Recently I came across this article on NPR about how these very same changes impact what teens are reading. Laurence Steinberg, a psychologist at Temple University, says teens love dystopian fiction, because “(Teen) brains are very responsive to emotionally arousing stimuli. During this time, there are so many new emotions and they are much stronger than those kids exp

For the past two months, I have been exploring some of the effects that normal brain development has on adolescent behavior. In today’s post, I want to examine the repercussion of the increase in oxytocin receptors that occurs during adolescence, and how parents can respond to this. Oxytocin is sometimes called the love or the cuddle hormone, because when we hug or kiss someone, when we have sex, give birth, or just bond socially, our oxytocin levels rise. The abundance of th

This summer I am exploring some of the effects that the adolescent brain has on adolescent behaviour, and today I wanted to look at what happens when melatonin release is delayed. Melatonin is also known as “the darkness hormone” and it help all people fall asleep. In adults, it is released at about 10 pm, but in teenagers it is released three hours later! (1) This three hour delay means that your teenager is liable to have a hard time falling asleep, and an even harder time

Over the next few weeks, I will continue exploring different aspects of adolescent development, and the ways in which these effect adolescent behaviour. This week, I want to look at the effect of myelination, the process during which nerve cells are coated by fatty lipids. Myelination actually begins at birth in the brain stem, but at the beginning of adolescence, myelination starts to occur in the frontal cortex, which is responsible for, “motor function, problem solving, sp

So much has been written -and read!- about the development of very young children, as if once we've got our kids sleeping and eating their vegetables, the battle is over, and yet adolescence presents brand new challenges for parents that are no less rooted in their biological development. Exaggerated activity in the nucleus accumbens relative to pre-frontal cortex activity is one of the important ways adolescents differ from children and adults. The nucleus accumbens is assoc

My personal Facebook feed has been flooded with pictures of 2018 graduates, both high school and college students. For so many, graduation means senior pictures, invitations, parties, fancy cakes, and gifts. It is an exciting time in the lives of young people and their families; one chapter of their lives is closing and another is beginning. Far removed from my Facebook feed, however, are the 25 graduating students who have been involved in programs at the Teen Action and Sup

Those of you who read my blog probably know that the development of adolescent brains and its effects on adolescent behavior is of deep interest to me. Understanding this development is key to how I -and others- can interact with teens most effectively. Recently, I came across this interview with Sarah-Jayne Blakemore a professor in cognitive neuroscience at University College London, and I wanted to share it with you. Blakemore is the author of Inventing Ourselves: The Secre

Recently the American Academy of Pediatrics called for the institution of a universal depression screening for adolescents. According to Dr. Rachel Zuckerbrot, a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist and associate professor at Columbia University, who was interviewed by NPR for a story on the AAP's new guidelines, "Only about 50 percent of adolescents with depression get diagnosed before reaching adulthood. And as many as 2 in 3 depressed teens don't get the care