In the book Brainstorm, author Daniel Siegel provides insight for understanding the teenage brain. He breaks down the barriers that many parents and educators have about adolescence, as many think that teenagers go crazy and have raging hormones. What is different about Siegel’s book from other books about adolescence is that the audience is for both adolescents and adults; most books on adolescence focus on only one of those audiences. Siegel writes in a sincere manner, making it easy to read, comprehend, and compare with our own experiences.
In Part I, “The Essence of Adolescence,” Siegel states four brain changes during adolescence: novelty seeking, social engagement, increased emotional intensity, and creative exploration. He also creates …show more content…
This part explains that some adolescents may not partake in good decision making because changes are occurring in the brain’s dopamine reward system (70). I agree with Siegel’s approach; he does not do the blame game in blaming adolescents for acting erratically and having raging hormones. This shows Siegel’s easiness on adolescents, which I partially understand with his accreditation; however, I think that Siegel could have written this book being a little harder on adolescents while still staying true to his points. Despite the brain changes, once the brain reaches “integration,” different parts of the brain linking together, this can decrease impulsivity (77). The illustrations Siegel provides are useful in understanding the brain; one looks at the brain using a hand as a model that distinguishes the parts (85). Siegel talks about attachments in part III. He presents the attachment model, which is a way in which our brains remember attachment relationships and how they have affected us (141). He says that this part is important for adolescents in moving towards security (161). Not knowing much about this subject, I enjoyed reading about it, and I agree with Siegel. However, for me it was slightly hard to understand what exactly attachment relationships are as I am not an expert on the brain like …show more content…
The Mindsight Tools sections provide ways to strengthen your mind and see or know the mind better, and they follow every section of Siegel’s book. The Q&A at the end of the book sums up his main points, and he also lists his five favorite facts about the brain. In the “Top Myths about Teen Behavior,” Siegel debunks the myths that he did earlier in the book regarding raging hormones, independence, and relating to adolescents. For example, one myth that many parents have is that their adolescent experiences are vastly different from their children because things are rather different today than when they were growing up. Siegel points out that parents should try to make sense of their own adolescent experiences and share them with their children, as it can help maintain a close bond
In Part I, “The Essence of Adolescence,” Siegel states four brain changes during adolescence: novelty seeking, social engagement, increased emotional intensity, and creative exploration. He also creates …show more content…
This part explains that some adolescents may not partake in good decision making because changes are occurring in the brain’s dopamine reward system (70). I agree with Siegel’s approach; he does not do the blame game in blaming adolescents for acting erratically and having raging hormones. This shows Siegel’s easiness on adolescents, which I partially understand with his accreditation; however, I think that Siegel could have written this book being a little harder on adolescents while still staying true to his points. Despite the brain changes, once the brain reaches “integration,” different parts of the brain linking together, this can decrease impulsivity (77). The illustrations Siegel provides are useful in understanding the brain; one looks at the brain using a hand as a model that distinguishes the parts (85). Siegel talks about attachments in part III. He presents the attachment model, which is a way in which our brains remember attachment relationships and how they have affected us (141). He says that this part is important for adolescents in moving towards security (161). Not knowing much about this subject, I enjoyed reading about it, and I agree with Siegel. However, for me it was slightly hard to understand what exactly attachment relationships are as I am not an expert on the brain like …show more content…
The Mindsight Tools sections provide ways to strengthen your mind and see or know the mind better, and they follow every section of Siegel’s book. The Q&A at the end of the book sums up his main points, and he also lists his five favorite facts about the brain. In the “Top Myths about Teen Behavior,” Siegel debunks the myths that he did earlier in the book regarding raging hormones, independence, and relating to adolescents. For example, one myth that many parents have is that their adolescent experiences are vastly different from their children because things are rather different today than when they were growing up. Siegel points out that parents should try to make sense of their own adolescent experiences and share them with their children, as it can help maintain a close bond