Search our blog using the word “brain” and you’ll find past posts such as one about motivating teenagers by teaching them how their brains change.  A recent NY Times article, “Teaching Teens to Cope with Social Stress,” suggests that helping them understand a similar theme — that they and others can change — helps them become more resilient and less susceptible to anxiety.

Studies sited in the article yielded promising results.  When teenagers were asked to do a simple exercise designed to help them understand that the cruelty

they may experience is not forever fixed, they exhibited less stress, more confidence and somewhat higher grades than those in a control group.

We know that young people (and those who work with them) need support navigating the teen and pre-teen years.  A search of “the brain” on PBS LearningMedia” results in hundreds of resources for a range of grade levels.  Here’s just a sampling:

Frontline’s Inside The Teenage Brain from Frontline

Magic and the Brain from NOVA scienceNOW

This is How Your Brain Grows from BrainCraft

For really young ones, you may want to check out Arthur Family Health, which has a section on resilience.

To read the entire NY Times’ article, click here.