Teen
Dating Advice and the Teenage Brain: Sexy Sells, Part 1
Ever wonder why you see a beautiful woman standing beside every
beautiful car at a car show? That’s easy - Pheromones and Oxytocin. Yep, it’s
the most potent teenage brain cocktail to induce love at first sight. Get those
hormones raging and that little mustang starts to look pretty hot after only a
matter of seconds. Marketing agents have been tapping into the idea that “sexy
sells” for years and by the looks of it, that form of advertising is not going
away anytime soon. What better way to hook the next generation? You’ve seen the
evidence - you take a teenage boy to a car show and expose him to this kind of
hormonal overload, you can’t expect his teenage brain to think straight for
days. Honestly, it is almost a form of torture - anticipate drool.
The
Teenage Brain: Parenting Teens in an Age When Sexy Sells
Recently, I was giving a 16 year old girl teenage dating advice
just before the prom and she was expressing how it makes her mad that “all guys
think about is sex.” I asked her where she thought that was coming from and she
replied, “They are all just so immature!” While that may be true in many cases,
it is also true that the teenage brain has to battle more visual images
promoting sex than any generation before them. Billions of advertising dollars
are allocated to get our kids to buy whatever is being sold, complete with
sensual imagery; it doesn’t matter if it is coffee, tennis shoes or a Barbie
lunchbox. When parenting teens, know that if our children’s eyes are open,
chances are they are being bombarded, often subconsciously, every 7 seconds
with enticing visual stimulation.
Think about what happens - a sweet, teenage honor student begins
to develop into a young woman and the first thing that changes are her
wardrobe. Our culture has confirmed over and over that if you have a sleek
body, a nice paint job and shine up your grill – you will get a truckload of
attention. And, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” What else do we expect them
to do? Wear burlap?
Parenting
Teens: A Closer Look at the Teenage Brain
When teenage brain chemicals are released, it is a force as
powerful as a Hemi engine. Trying to stop the thought process with a parenting
teens lecture when Oxytocin is being released is like trying to stop the
momentum of an Indy car on lap 19 without taking your foot off the gas. The
challenge is that the addictive nature and thrill starts long before your teen
steps onto the track. It starts with a thought – a seemingly harmless
suggestion in the form of a photo, movie, or even word picture that revs up the
engines. The chemical release in the teenage brain is a trained activity.
Repetition: over and over again, until the teenage brain is on automatic
release of Oxytocin and other mind-altering chemicals. Don’t get me wrong,
these hormones and chemicals in the teenage brain are healthy and normal when
released in the proper dosage at appropriate times. It’s like the difference
between taking a turn at 50 mph or 65 – the later could lead to disaster.
Understanding the teenage brain is both a right and a
responsibility to those that are parenting teens. We have the data and the
research to learn the difference between promoting healthy levels of teenage
brain fuel through things like laughter, eye contact and encouraging words,
versus allowing destructive and addictive patterns through sexual
overstimulation. We wouldn’t allow our teenager to feed a desire to drive the
Autobahn at 12-years-old. That degree of experience requires the appropriate
maturity and wisdom, not to mention time and place. What is your teenager
engaged in that is fueling his or her thought pattern toward a craving for
sexual activity? Maybe high-octane is not the best choice.
In the next post, we will take a closer look at the impact
advertising has on this powerful chemical called Oxytocin in the teenage brain
and what those that are parenting teens can do to keep your kids on the right
track – maybe even in the slow lane!
Your thoughts
on this teen dating advice?
Mama j
No comments:
Post a Comment