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Tenåringshjernen : hjerneforskerens overlevelsesguide til livet med ungdom by Frances E. Jensen
jkn303's review against another edition
What a condescending book. Tons of trite "humor" and outdated ways of thinking. Blech.
asurges's review against another edition
3.0
Lots of good information that distills to one consistent idea: teenagers may look like mini adults, but they definitely aren’t. It’s a great thesis and one that’s been helpful to me as an instructor and parent.
The author lost me on the pages and pages of discussion of the brain. After a while, the terminology seemed to blur into one paragraph. Maybe she and her co-author could have broken up each discussion with a case study and then integrated more specific workings of the brain within that study. Overall, I’d recommend this to parents of teenagers, but feel free to skim, especially if you’re like me and loathe excessive use of exclamation marks.
The author lost me on the pages and pages of discussion of the brain. After a while, the terminology seemed to blur into one paragraph. Maybe she and her co-author could have broken up each discussion with a case study and then integrated more specific workings of the brain within that study. Overall, I’d recommend this to parents of teenagers, but feel free to skim, especially if you’re like me and loathe excessive use of exclamation marks.
deecreatenola's review against another edition
3.0
This was not entirely what expected. I expected something to help parents learn how to deal with their teens on an everyday basis. Why are they moody, how you can respond, how to deal with disrespect, etc. It has elements of those things, but it focuses on discrete issues.
It starts out with information about brain development that is interesting. A more scientific explanation than what we are already hearing out there - that teens' brains are very much still evolving and are far from adult brains. Then there are chapters on alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, hard-core drugs, mental illness, stress, concussions, digital screens, even crime. And in each chapter we hear the worst-case scenarios often involving death.
If you have a lot of parenting anxiety, don't read this. You will never let your teen out of the house again. It's not wrong information, but it's often extreme. Also often very scientific. There are diagrams that are hard to read and understand throughout the book.
So it's not a bad book...but not a great book either.
It starts out with information about brain development that is interesting. A more scientific explanation than what we are already hearing out there - that teens' brains are very much still evolving and are far from adult brains. Then there are chapters on alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, hard-core drugs, mental illness, stress, concussions, digital screens, even crime. And in each chapter we hear the worst-case scenarios often involving death.
If you have a lot of parenting anxiety, don't read this. You will never let your teen out of the house again. It's not wrong information, but it's often extreme. Also often very scientific. There are diagrams that are hard to read and understand throughout the book.
So it's not a bad book...but not a great book either.
cojack's review against another edition
5.0
So fascinating. Highly recommend this parents of kids and really for anyone interested in the human brain. The author comes to this as a concerned parent and as a neuroscientist, so she handles parents fears and gives parenting advice alongside the scientific info.
Listened to this on audiobook and didn't like the narrator at all. I wish the author had narrated it. (She did the intro only.)
Listened to this on audiobook and didn't like the narrator at all. I wish the author had narrated it. (She did the intro only.)
rscuderi's review against another edition
3.0
Lots of great information, but short on practical strategies.
lizaroo71's review against another edition
3.0
This is a good primer on the brain and its development through adolescence.
There are chapters on sleep, stress, alcohol, sports and other relevant topics to navigating the world of being a teenager. The illustrations help the reader better comprehend the material.
There is a lot of work cited based on animal experiments which is sometimes difficult to swallow. If you are sensitive to this issue, be aware. There isn't anything too graphic, but it is where a lot of the research thrives.
This will help me better understand the teens I teach and why they can't help being impulsive or tired or indecisive.
There are chapters on sleep, stress, alcohol, sports and other relevant topics to navigating the world of being a teenager. The illustrations help the reader better comprehend the material.
There is a lot of work cited based on animal experiments which is sometimes difficult to swallow. If you are sensitive to this issue, be aware. There isn't anything too graphic, but it is where a lot of the research thrives.
This will help me better understand the teens I teach and why they can't help being impulsive or tired or indecisive.
genuine_sarcasm's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
5.0
this is less emotional and more scientific explanations as to how the brain (and body) work for a developing teenager. this is extremely informative and i appreciate the explanations of WHY that was focused on the child as opposed to the parent.
while the content on vaping / ecigs is outdated, everything is pretty much spot on. there is a scientifice, biological, neurological reason that teens aren't developing adults. and, as adults, we tend to forget that. this is truly a second developmental stage ... not just in how the body matures but in how the systems within it also change.
this will definitely be on my "re read" list.
while the content on vaping / ecigs is outdated, everything is pretty much spot on. there is a scientifice, biological, neurological reason that teens aren't developing adults. and, as adults, we tend to forget that. this is truly a second developmental stage ... not just in how the body matures but in how the systems within it also change.
this will definitely be on my "re read" list.
dumpling3579's review against another edition
3.0
I was looking for some help to ease teenage anxiety in my house. This book explained the science behind why teenagers and young adults may exhibit certain behaviors, but there was little practical advice. I found it to be a bit dry to get through because of all the scientific evidence throughout. It read more like a dissertation than a self-help book.
mesy_mark's review against another edition
3.0
This is a great well readable book about the fact that a major organ in the human body needs to be acknowledged for what it is- different. And this difference needs to be treated differently not to get special privileges to drive the adult world even more batty, but to ensure the correct and most optimal growing fulfillment potential is reached.
Broken into chapters that will concern ranging from things such as stress to drugs to mental illness this book looks into what all makes a teen brain different. How neural pathways respons differently to the same chemical even if it is delivered in the same method. How, for example, under the section of concussions, the teen brain takes LONGER to heal and recover from a brain impact than adults. The point is the brain reacts differently and it is these differences that make it, it.
I liked the overall readability of the book as well as the light-hearted human when dealing with difficult issues. The practical tips at the end of the chapters to better off dealing with the teen is useful. This is a digestible book that makes you look at the teen mind in a different light.
Broken into chapters that will concern ranging from things such as stress to drugs to mental illness this book looks into what all makes a teen brain different. How neural pathways respons differently to the same chemical even if it is delivered in the same method. How, for example, under the section of concussions, the teen brain takes LONGER to heal and recover from a brain impact than adults. The point is the brain reacts differently and it is these differences that make it, it.
I liked the overall readability of the book as well as the light-hearted human when dealing with difficult issues. The practical tips at the end of the chapters to better off dealing with the teen is useful. This is a digestible book that makes you look at the teen mind in a different light.
vivien500's review against another edition
5.0
This is a must for parents of teens and preteens. It’s help d me understand my child so much better and I feel more equipped for the next few years. I’ll continue to use it as a reference throughout the teenage years!