Why Teens Seem Reckless (and What the Brain Has to Do With It)

If you’ve ever wondered why your teenager takes wild risks, craves approval one minute and pushes you away the next, or struggles to explain their choices, neuroscience has some reassuring answers.

In his powerful book Behave, neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky devotes a full chapter to adolescence. The title?

“Adolescence; or, Dude, Where’s My Cortex?”

And yes, the science is just as fascinating as the title suggests.

The Teenage Brain Is Still Under Construction

The heart of Sapolsky’s argument is this: teenage behaviour is not random or irrational, it is biological.

The prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that handles reasoning, impulse control, and long-term planning, doesn’t fully mature until our mid-twenties. This developmental lag explains why teens are more likely to:

• Take risks

• Seek novelty

• Care deeply (and sometimes obsessively) about what others think

What’s even more interesting is that during adolescence, the brain actually has more neurons than it will in adulthood. As teens grow, the brain goes through a process called pruning, trimming away underused neural connections and strengthening others. This period shapes not just how teens think and feel now, but the skills, habits, and interests that often stick with them for life.

Social Rejection Feels Like Actual Pain

One of the most striking parts of Sapolsky’s research is how teens process social experiences. In teenage brains, the same region activates when thinking about themselves and about how others perceive them. It’s as if “what people think of me” and “who I am” are one and the same.

That’s why social rejection during adolescence can feel devastating. Unlike adults, teens can’t easily rationalise rejection with a shrug or self-talk. The part of the brain that helps us manage those emotions simply isn’t fully online yet.

What About Hormones?

Yes, hormones like testosterone rise during adolescence, but they don’t directly cause behaviour. Instead, they amplify existing tendencies. If a teen is already driven to seek social status, testosterone can make that urge stronger. But whether they gain that status by winning a debate or starting a fight depends heavily on their environment, values, and support system.

Why This Matters for Parenting

Teen behaviour can be frustrating, confusing, even scary at times. But when we understand the why behind it, something shifts. We stop taking their mood swings personally. We start seeing patterns instead of chaos. And we realise this isn’t about disobedience or disrespect, it’s about a brain doing its best to grow up.

At Orange Fennec, we believe parents deserve tools that help them support their kids through these critical stages with clarity, empathy, and structure. Whether you’re navigating after-school moods, building long-term skills, or just trying to have one meaningful conversation this week, our parenting co-pilot is designed to help.

Because teenagers aren’t broken. They’re just becoming.

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