Buccaneers SAIL Safe Accountable In Control Lead by Example

Please take time today to talk about kind acts that you have witnessed… What kindnesses are happening at B-UMS that need to be recognized? Mrs. Cutright’s Advisory will be posting our kind act count on the new banner that is on display by the snack bar!

Why do Teens engage in risky behavior?

RISK Teens and young adults take more risks than any other age group. Despite educational efforts to provide teens with information about risky behavior, many adolescents continue to engage in high risk actions. So how do we explain this? Kids keep doing risky things in spite of the efforts being spent on prevention programs!

What types of risky behavior do you see in your fellow middle schoolers? Some of our ideas: Drug / alcohol use Tobacco use Texting and driving (older teens) Sexual behavior Social media (posting inappropriate video/pics, spreading rumors) Tide pod challenge Make a list of types of risky behavior that teens could engage in…

Why do you think teens get involved in high risk behavior? Please share your ideas with the group.

Just a word about the Tide Pod challenge… turn up sound and click the video below To report exposure to laundry detergent pods, call the national poison control hotline at 1-800-222-1222 or text POISON to 797979 to save the number on your phone.

Studies tell us… By using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), researchers have found that brain changes during puberty are important in explaining risky behavior. They have found that: The section of the brain most involved in emotion and social interaction (temporal lobe) becomes very active during puberty, while the section most critical for regulating behavior (prefrontal cortex/frontal lobe) is still maturing. Because of normal adolescent brain growth, teen brains lack stress management abilities related to the influences of friends, especially when kids are excluded by their peers. This makes teens more likely to focus on their peers in decision- making situations that involve risky behavior in an effort to avoid being left out. Interestingly, MRI testing proves that adolescents are more likely to engage in risky behavior when they are with other kids. This is a phenomenon that goes away with adulthood. It is all related to the prefrontal cortex area of the brain which is not fully developed until age 25! This means that humans are not fully mature until their mid- twenties!

So, while your brain is still developing, what can teens do to live a healthy life? Limit your chances for getting into risky behavior. (find safe but fun things to do). Find safe but fun past-times to satisfy your need for thrill- seeking behavior (rock climbing, zip-lining, scary movies) When in doubt, talk to a mature, trusted adult or older trustworthy teen. What other things can you do?

References https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-wide-wide-world- psychology/201506/why-are-teen-brains-designed-risk-taking https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID= 1&ContentID=3051 https://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20070413/teens-are-hardwired- for-risky-behavior#1 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your- health/wp/2018/01/13/teens-are-daring-each-other-to-eat-tide-pods-we- dont-need-to-tell-you-thats-a-bad-idea/?utm_term=.3e09d8152cda