Teens are risky and reactionary, not because they’re trying intentionally to push your buttons and make your life miserable, but because those high-reasoning areas of the brain are still developing and will continue to do so into their early twenties. Researchers at the National Institutes of Mental Health did a study with teenagers and young adults with what they called a “game of chance.”4 Players could choose either a high-risk or a low-risk option. The low-risk option had less reward but greater