The TEENs problems : 1. PROSPECTIVE MEMORY
The frontal lobe where the executive functions are located matures relatively late. That is why teenagers lack some crucial abilities that seem natural for adults. One of them is prospective memory. This memory allows a person to remember to perform a planned action or recall a planned intention at a future time. It relates to the simple tasks in a daily life (for example: to call parents after having arrived safely at a destination; return a rented game or a book once it is finished), as well as to the extreme life saving situations (not to swim/drive after drinking alcohol).
Frances E. Jensen in her book “The teenage brain” refers to the research findings showing that the prospective memory “continues to develop and become more efficient specifically between the ages of 6 – 10, and then again in the 20” ! It means that teenagers are left with the abilities of a child while facing much more complicated and challenging tasks !
That’s why, Dear Parents, we need to talk to our children when they’re still at the age they listen to us. And once they become teenagers, we need to talk, talk and talk to them, in order they keep fresh the crucial and life saving information in their underdeveloped prospective memory. Afterall, it may not be really their fault if they forgot to call us back or clean the dishes after eating.
