From Montessori on Parenting in the Third Plane to TED talks by cognitive neuroscientists, I inhaled it all and exhaled pure relief. Having this knowledge available at our fingertips is such an advantage. How did our parents survive without it?
Here are my takeaways.
We sometimes see only the problem with teenagers — heightened risk-taking, poor impulse control, self-consciousness, defying rules, and arguing — but all this shouldn’t be doomed and stigmatized. It reflects changes in the brain that provide an opportunity for education and especially social development.
Teens are not work-in-progress versions or rough drafts of adults but exquisitely sensitive and highly adaptable human beings.
They are wired perfectly for adapting to the complicated world around us, while we as parents often stumble as we walk between supporting and hindering our kids as they learn to find their way.
Our guidance and support are valued not because they come from parental authority but because they stem from our own visible struggles to understand how the world turns.