Dealing with your unruly teen..never thought it would come so fast.

you are the parent of a brand new teen. Teens can be fun, lively and interesting companions. However, the sensitive technical upgrade that has turned your prepubescent child into an adolescent is subject to glitches. Don't panic. Your adolescent is 100 per cent guaranteed -- to beg for more spending money, consume large quantities of groceries and listen to music that makes you feel positively ancient.

In order to get the most from your teen, refer to the owner's manual below. It describes the programming issues responsible for typical teen behaviours and how you can return your teen to optimal function when things temporarily go awry. Warning: In times of angst (your own, that is) keep in mind that it will only be a few years until the next upgrade -- independent adult -- replaces the current edition of your child. So enjoy your adolescent while you can!

Technical glitch no. 1 (aka The Drama Queen)
Your 14-year-old daughter has just slammed her bedroom door. You can hear heart-wrenching wails punctuated by shouts of, "My life is OVER!" Why the drama? After five shampoos in 15 minutes, her newly dyed hair still looks purple, er deep mahogany.

Programming issue:
Your teen's brain is undergoing rapid rewiring. The prefrontal cortex, the brain's reasoning centre, grows quickly during the tween years, then is "pruned back" throughout adolescence. (See "The Brain Behind the Behaviour," page 3 of this article.) Through much of this period, the logic circuits of your teen's brain could be considered to be off-line. Instead, the amygdala (an almond-shaped structure located in the anterior lobe of the cerebrum) handles most incoming data. Interestingly, this is part of the brain responsible for fight-or-flight reactions, so your teen's overly emotional reaction makes perfect sense. As her prefrontal cortex gradually comes online, expect more reasoned and balanced responses to the ups and downs of life.