You’re not imagining it. Your once-reasonable son, who used to ask before borrowing a biscuit, is now attempting to ramp a bicycle over the garden shed or launching himself down a flight of stairs on a skateboard. It’s not just hormones. It’s developmental neuroscience. Statistically, adolescence is the most dangerous stage of human development —… Continue reading Why Is My 14-Year-Old Son Suddenly Doing Stupid, Dangerous Things?
Category: The Brain and Learning
Why Does My Teenager Actually Hate Me?
(They don’t. But their brain is doing something wild.) No — your teenager doesn’t hate you. They’re just embarrassed by your existence. Painfully, viscerally embarrassed. And it’s entirely normal. Adolescence is a time of radical brain development. Your child’s brain is being rewired at speed — especially in areas linked to emotion, social awareness and… Continue reading Why Does My Teenager Actually Hate Me?
What’s the greatest gift from educational neuroscience?
(10 min read) Answer: understanding brain plasticity if you only make one change to the way you interact with your children and their learning, make it to teach them about brain plasticity. Ok so it’s not a new Nintendo or a car, but if you were only allowed to take one thing from educational neuroscience… Continue reading What’s the greatest gift from educational neuroscience?
Neuroscience is everywhere. What do I need to know about the brain?
(11 min read) A brief tour of the brain It feels rather trite to describe the brain as ‘astonishing, remarkable and prodigious’ (and all the other ‘phenomenal’-like adjectives), but it’s true. It is an incredibly complex organ, more sophisticated than any machine ever invented, capable of processing information at 120 miles per hour. It never… Continue reading Neuroscience is everywhere. What do I need to know about the brain?
What is stress, and does it affect learning?
(10 min read) In our house, the twenty-minutes before the school-run goes something like this: (To my eldest) have you got your homework darling? Let me see. (To middle child) Have you done your teeth? Go and do your teeth. (To youngest) We haven’t got time to play with Play-Doh, darling, we have to get… Continue reading What is stress, and does it affect learning?
What is learning? Give me the basics!
This is a great question, and the full answer would fill several books. But here we go – an attempt to distil the very basics of what we know about the brain, memory and learning to a few key messages.
How to teach your child about brain plasticity.
(6 min read) Or listen to the guide for children on this podcast: Research evidence shows that if you only make one change to the way you interact with your children and their learning, make it to teach them about brain plasticity. I really cannot stress this enough. It is the neuroscientific support for Carol… Continue reading How to teach your child about brain plasticity.
How do I help my child deal with stress?
(9 min read) When our early hominid ancestors evolved, the stress response dealt brilliantly with situations related to survival – the fact that we’re here today is testament to that. Seeing a snake slowly slide over your toddler’s leg whilst they’re sleeping is something our stone-age ancestors were unlikely to forget; and therefore learned to… Continue reading How do I help my child deal with stress?
How do I keep my own brain fit? Plasticity in Adulthood
(12 min read) First, are adult brains plastic? Can you teach an old dog new tricks? It used to be widely believed that we were born with all the brain cells we would ever have, that brain plasticity only occurred in children, and that if we didn’t therefore cram in all the learning we needed… Continue reading How do I keep my own brain fit? Plasticity in Adulthood