Kathryn Berkett was an inspiring and passionate speaker who educated us all about how the brain works. There were a number of parents and teachers attending the presentation.
One parent was heard to comment that she would like to go back to the 1-3 years with her children knowing what she does now. By the age of 3 years a child's brain will be an average of 1180g of the 1400g it will be as an adult.
An adolescent brain will not be "mature" until 23-25 years old. Even though our adolescent's may look emotionally mature the risk taking part of their brain does not develop sufficiently until their twenties.
One of the best tips for parenting was that we need to make "pictures of what we do want" for our adolescents. By saying to a child "don't spill the water in the glass" they are more likely to do so as we are creating the wrong picture in their head of the water spilling.
Kathryn also talked about the need for our children to take "managed risks" and learn the consequences of their actions. Peer influence is huge for adolescents.
She also stressed the increasing importance that we limit the time on electronic devices before sleep.
Many thanks to Kathryn for her great presentation and to our sponsors, Caffe L'Affare, RNZB, Harcourts and Strike Entertainment. If you missed out on this presentation and you want to hear her presentation please go to the Brainwave Trust website for her other presentations
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Join us at Pauatahanui Theatre, for our fundraising movie Sunshine on the Leith.