The Teenage Brain
by Frances E. Jensen with Amy Ellis Nutt
A neurologist and mother of two sons explains adolescent neuroscience: the unfinished frontal lobe, heightened learning and heightened vulnerability, the effects of sleep loss, alcohol, cannabis, screens and stress on a developing brain. It is more cautionary than Siegel and useful for conversations about risk.
Read it if…
you want the hard science on what substances, sleep and stress do to a teen brain.
Skip it if…
you want a warmer framing; see Brainstorm.
Three things you will actually use
- The brain finishes in the mid-twenties; plan accordingly.
- Teens learn fast and are harmed fast; both are true.
- Sleep is neurological maintenance; protect it.
Do this first
Share the chapter on sleep with your teen and negotiate a phone-out-of-bedroom rule.
Our verdict
Informative and cautionary.
Compare with other Parenting books
Parenting with Love and Logic
Foster Cline and Jim Fay · Parenting
Practical and widely used.
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How to Talk So Teens Will Listen & Listen So Teens Will Talk
Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish · Parenting
Practical and respectful.
CLICK TO SEEBrowse all Parenting book reviews or get the free Reality Code Cheat Sheet.
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