Stress-aging of Teen Brains: A Pandemic Insight with Katherine Reynolds Lewis

In this episode of The Self Driven Child Podcast, I talk with Katherine Reynolds Lewis, an award-winning journalist, speaker, and author of "The Good News About Bad Behavior." We discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's mental health, the importance of resilience and adaptability, and how parents can support their kids and themselves during challenging times.

TIMELINE SUMMARY

[2:18] Researchers at Stanford University were the first to compare MRI scans of teenagers’ brains from before and after the pandemic and found significant differences.

[6:15] Healing the long-term effects of childhood adversity.

[9:38] The slow maturation of the brain.

[12:57] Posttraumatic growth is a source of future resilience. It’s not in our heads.

[15:53] We can go anywhere from here and there’s a huge body of research on post traumatic growth and protective factors that can predict after a traumatic

[19:09] Mental health is a mental health issue.

[21:47] Knowing what you know, knowing what you want.

[24:42] How can parents and guardians find educational environments where their kids are getting positive and mental health work?

I hope you find this episode as enlightening and inspiring as I did. Thank you for joining me on this journey to better understand and support the mental health and development of our children.

RESOURCES:

Katherine Reynolds Lewis's book, "The Good News About Bad Behavior": https://www.amazon.com/Good-News-About-Bad-Behavior/dp/1610398386

Katherine's Washington Post article on the increase in adolescent suicide attempts

PrepMatters website: https://prepmatters.com 

If you have a high school aged student and would like to talk about putting a tutoring or college plan together, reach out to Ned's company, PrepMatters at www.prepmatters.com