Blog #4

My sister is going through the prime of her adolescent years. These years have been both amazing and exhausting. As I read through this book, I find some things that Seigel says a little too scary accurate. I appreciated the way he showed us the hand model when identifying the different parts of the brain. This was an easier way for me to remember all the different parts of the brain and how the connect with each other. The brain has always amazed me with the different functions it has, the awesome things it can do, and the overwhelming information it can hold. I don't think I truly understood how big of an impact the development of the brain has on teenagers. These different developments or "remodeling" of the brain makes perfect sense. Like remodeling a house, they are redoing and rethinking everything that they have grown up thinking. Teenagers are finding a new sense of self. This development and change in life is experienced differently for all adolescents.

There is this new(ish) app/game to play on your phone called FriendO. I play this game with my teenage sister daily. One of the questions my sister had to answer on this app was, "My parents don't understand why..." then the app proceeded to give her 4 different answers to choose from.
        a. Why I dress the way I do.
        b. Why I text my friends all the time.
        c. Why I listen to the music I do.
        d. all of the above.
My sister answered d. all of the above. I immediately thought of this book when I saw that she answered that. My sister is all sorts of hilarious, spunky, fun, caring, loving, compassionate, and so much more. Towards the end of this chapter, I appreciated the explanation behind the emotions and vulnerability of the teenager. For me, I can tell my sister gets more defensive and emotional when someone criticizes what she is doing or who she is. I like how Seigel states this isn't a sign of immaturity but a crucial part of human development. My sister is still finding who she is and that is a beautiful process. But, I can't wait for her to be a couple years older and truly understand the all sorts of amazing she is and can be. 

Blog #3

Siegel opens up this section of the book with the story of Katey. This story hit home because I think there are many Katey's in this world. Throughout all the different stories regarding teenagers, he explains that there are common themes. These themes stem from the development in their brains. Siegel writes the effects that dopamine can have on the brain. I gained so much more understanding of the "why" behind the actions. Katey was fully aware of the negative consequences of her actions and yet she still did it. She along with most all other adolescence care more about their idea of the positives such as the thrill or impressing their peers. When adolescence have this mindset, the risk seems worth it because they aren't able to think big picture.

I enjoyed the story of his son's friend Benji when explaining the effects of peer pressure on adolescence. This story was almost funny because of the phrase, "If your friends jumped off a cliff would you do it too?" In Benji's case, he sure did. Because he was in the presence of all of his friends, he jumped off a fifty foot cliff and broke his leg. If Benji was alone, he would still have two full functioning legs. Teenagers reduce the focus on potential risks of the situations when they are with their peers because they get caught up in the idea of impressing people. Looking back at all situations I was in or even that I heard about this is the main motive for doing dumb things.

Seigel continues to drive the point home that "Adolescence is not a stage to simply get over, it is a stage of life to cultivate well" (74). He intends us to switch this negative view we have on teenagers that they are immature to a positive view that they are simply in a crucial stage of development both physically and mentally. I agree with his statement, but I think as parents or authority to teenagers this shouldn't excuse their rude behavior. There is still a strong need of discipline in these stages. As adults we shouldn't say, "Oh, it's okay that they ran away from home they are just clinging to their peers more now." It is possible for adults to discipline teens with grace.