Student Support

The Adolescent Brain

Did you know that by age 6, our brains have grown to 90-95% of an adults brain? Although the brain has grown physically in size, all the connections in the brain haven’t fully developed and grown yet.

We wonder why our teens are sometimes so unpredictable – well, yes a part of that is hormones, but a big part of that is the brain.

Our brains develop from back to front, so the Amygdala – the part of the brain associated with survival is well developed. While the thinking, forward planning part of our brain – the Prefrontal Cortex is slower to develop. What this means is that teens may respond and react emotionally.

You can make that difference to your teen.

1. Encourage them to Stop, Think, Do. 

Stop, Think about their behaviour/ choices, actions. Encourage them to ask are my actions/behaviour/ choices wise? Are they safe? Are they helpful? 

Then Do – what is safe, helpful, wise and kind.

2. Encourage good sleep. Sleep is important for our brains to recover, grow and for learning to percolate deeper.

This website has some more information that could help. 

May everyone have an enjoyable Easter and the Wellbeing team is looking forward to seeing you all next term.