In the late 1990s, British comedian Harry Enfield created a character called “Kevin the Teenager” who appeared in a weekly sketch on his comedy series. The first episode of the series is set on the cusp of Kevin’s 13th birthday, where the happy-go-lucky 12-year-old is excitedly awaiting the stroke of midnight and marvelling at the prospect of receiving a Super Mario Cart from his parents. As midnight chimes, Kevin’s parents watch on, horrified, as their bouncy child morphs into a lethargic and sullen teen. Kevin represents the tumultuous adolescent years and if you watch the episode, you might find you can relate to parts of it. When I’ve shown the clip to students, they can often identify with some of the characteristics Kevin manifests. However, they are also able to articulate why this representation is a stereotype and can counter some of the negative traits with positive ones.
As our students enter Middle School, their brains are embarking on a remarkable journey. During adolescence, the brain restructures itself to become more efficient as it begins to get rid of unnecessary “grey matter”. This restructuring begins at the back of the brain, which means that the frontal lobes and prefrontal cortex (areas that assist with executive functioning and impulse control) develop last. As hormones kick in, the emotional brain (limbic system) becomes more active and adolescents come to rely on the amygdala to help them make decisions. The amygdala is a fundamental part of our limbic system and it is the part of the brain that activates automatically when a threat is perceived. The fight, flight or freeze response is triggered by the amygdala, which is why when adolescents feel emotions such as anger, fear or anxiety they might respond with aggression, run away or simply shut down.
So, what can we do to support students during these transformative years?
Firstly, we need to understand what is happening to students’ brains and recognise the potential to capitalise on this period of exceptional growth rather than just seeing the stereotype of “Kevin”. Parents, carers and teachers have a united role to play in encouraging the best out of the adolescent brain and helping our young people understand what is happening during these years, and why.
The environment in which they are developing needs to be one that has consistent expectations and boundaries. From a College perspective, this means we need to establish shared expectations that students are invested in and clear boundaries for consistency. When students fall short of these expectations, we offer them the opportunity to reflect on what happened and why, and empower them to make better choices next time. In doing so, we help them recognise their emotions and the triggers which have caused certain responses. In turn, we engage the thinking brain (frontal lobe) and help students learn to self-regulate by having an awareness of emotional triggers, as well as strategies and support systems they can turn to before the amygdala fires up. By using this restorative practice model in Middle School, we are helping our students take responsibility for their actions whilst also building socio-emotional intelligence, empathy and community.
Some of the challenges we face as teachers when trying to support student wellbeing stem from a lack of sleep. Research shows that adolescents need more sleep than they did when they were younger because of the development occurring in their bodies and brains during this time; between eight and ten hours of sleep per night are optimum. A lack of sleep impacts cognitive function, which means it is harder for students to apply reasoning to situations, make decisions, learn and retain new information, and problem solve. A lack of sleep can also be detrimental to a young person’s physical, emotional and mental wellbeing, thus increasing the risk of depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. When speaking to students at Peace, some of the recurring obstacles to getting a good night’s sleep seem to be connected to late-night “screen-time”, with gaming and mobile phone use being the main causes.
Video games can have a positive effect on the developing adolescent brain; they can have a positive impact on the brain’s ability to process information, they can increase reaction time and attention span, and they can improve working memory. Unfortunately, they can also be addictive because of the way they are structured to encourage the release of dopamine (a feel-good chemical) in the brain when players are rewarded for completing challenges. Likewise, many mobile phone apps, especially social media ones, can be addictive for the same reason. As humans, we desire positive feedback from others to help establish a sense of belonging and many of the social media apps are constructed to give us hits of dopamine through in-built notifications that reinforce a sense of reward each time one goes off.
The effects of the dopamine from gaming and social media are generally short-lived but they create a craving for more and this is where an addiction begins. When boundaries aren’t put in place to limit screen time, young people find it more and more difficult to withdraw. This is why your son or daughter may become argumentative or aggressive when told to switch off because there is a perceived threat to something that is making them feel good.
This article focuses on video game addiction and offers advice and strategies to help limit the time young people spend gaming. Some of these can also be applied to other screen addictions. Within the article, there are also links to websites that provide information as to how to apply parental controls to different gaming consoles.
Setting clear routines and boundaries around good sleep habits is essential. If you do not have established routines that allow for eight to ten hours of sleep, don’t try to make sudden drastic changes as you are less likely to succeed. Instead, go slowly. For example, if your child is currently going to bed at 10:30 pm but to get a minimum of eight hours sleep they should be going to bed by 9:00 pm, slowly bring back their bed time by 15 minutes. The gradual shift will also help your child’s body clock to adjust to the earlier bedtime, meaning they’re less likely to fall asleep quickly and naturally. This website offers more tips to help you create healthy sleep habits at home.
Research also suggests that adolescents may be particularly susceptible to the impact of blue light from devices, which can suppress melatonin, a hormone that helps our body know when it’s time for bed. Make a rule that screen time ends at least one hour before bed. More information on screen time and sleep can be found here.
