Welcome to Your Teenager's Brain

By: Abigail Baird

Narrated by: Abigail Baird

Length: 4 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's Summary

Teenagers are a breed of their own. They speak their own language, they abide by their own rules, and they seem to exist to drive adults crazy. But adolescence is a typical stage of human development that is the essential preparation for success in the adult world. The more you understand about your teen’s brain, the better prepared you will be to handle this turbulent time in your child’s life.

Professor Abigail Baird has devoted the majority of her career to studying adolescence, and in this Audible Original, she shares the latest perspectives on this amazing time of cognitive and behavioral growth. The 10 lectures in this series will reveal that adolescent behavior is much easier to understand than most people think. Rather than seeing the teen years as a crucible to be endured by parents and young people alike, this series offers a practical perspective for adults who hope to help teens truly thrive in their personal journeys to adulthood - not merely to survive their adolescence. 

Whether you are a parent, someone who works with teens, or even a teen yourself, this course will shed new light on a period of human development that is all too often incorrectly described as a time where psychological peril is inevitable.

©2021 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.

Excellent Lecture Series

I am raising my 5th and final teenager and this book gave me so much knowledge! I wish I had read it while I was raising my first teen. The author makes neuroscience easy to understand and completely fascinating. I was disappointed when it was over.

Anyone raising a teenager will benefit

from this series. Informative, thoughtfully explained, and easy to understand. My kids are 18 and 20 now and I wish I had access to the ideas presented here earlier.

Listen to the whole program

This author had the appropriate tone of a friend speaking to you and trying to comfort you in dealing with a teenager. As a PhD from Harvard, she cites research along with her own experience to assure anyone who has a teenager in his or her life that teenage -hood is not pathological, rather an amazing time of learning, akin to the toddler years. She drew important parallels between these two times in human development.

I liked her story about the cockroach and how in some cultures, cockroaches are food while in the American culture, cockroaches are a disgusting insect to be killed as quickly as possible. Her point in this anecdote was that we learn things not necessarily by being told them specifically, but by observing how people around us act. I also like her opinion the teens need freedom to experiment and learn on their own. I felt that she did not address risks quite enough. She never talked about teenage sex, which can be a problem if a teenager catches an STD,impregnates someone, gets pregnant, etc. I know I’m not allowed to be upset that this story is one thing and not another, but I think sex should have been addressed.

Overall, I recommend this program, but do listen to it all the way through as she addresses mental health problems at the end and what to do about them. In short, her opinion is that a parent knows the teen better than anyone else, and that parents should trust their guts. The problem with this is what if the parent him or herself is messed up? She strongly advises against a parent acting like a friend, but what if a parent already is acting like a friend, and is too immature to do otherwise? No book or program can be perfect or completely comprehensive; this one was addressed to a responsible parent.

So helpful

When your first child turns 17 do one of two things; move to Siberia or read this book.

A must read for parents, grandparents and teachers!

I want to first thank the author for her clear and well organized approach to this often confusing topic. As a therapist who is working with the anxiety of parents caught up raising teenagers in a world so different than the one that they grew up in, I found it a perfect tool to augment our sessions. All the reassurance in the world can not beat actual knowledge. If you know anyone who has a teenager - gift them with this book.

Translating the Teen Brain 101

This 10 part lecture series is any parents key to unlocking the steel, chain heavy, sunken to the bottom of the ocean box of teen emotions. Each lecture breaks down crucial aspects on teen development. The why, how and when, these emotions are not only normal but necessary to promote effective developmental progress. Upon completion of this can’t miss an episode series, you will feel enlightened, relieved, and confident in a never before felt way, about the changes taking place within your teen and how to help them navigate life’s joys, disappointments, and opportunities for growth. My favorite quote from the series is, "I’m not trying to control you, I am here to help you learn how to control yourself.”

Brilliant!!!

A fantastic listen and such an eye opener for teen parents. Mrs. Baird narrate her work in a fun and personal way. I enjoyed ir very much.

very informational

it reflects on what I've been researching
that helps me and other people understand it's meeting

Better than I expected

Good audio. Good message. A bit on the technical side in explanations but you can take that or leave it. I enjoy understanding it. But it had a lot of useful information.

I found hope!

First book about teenagers that isn't fluff or has oversimplified suggestions. Highly recommended to all parents who survived the first ten years as a parent.