There’s Finally An Explanation For Parents On Why Your Teenager Ignores You

What kind of relationship did you have with your Mom when you were a teenager?

Are you the parent to a teenager now?

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Do you always feel like you are at war with them?

First of all, you are not alone.

Let's just say my mom spent a majority of our time fighting like cats and dogs the second I turned 13.

She can attest to this by the way:

It won't fix the hormonal problem going on in your house but I do have a scientific explanation for it all.

The results of a new study were released via NJ.com and it explains everything.

Moral of the story: None of this is your teenager's fault.

If anything, struggling to get your teenager to listen to you is a sign of a healthy teenage brain.

Bonkers, I know.

Plus, if you have felt that things changed like the flip of a switch at the age of 13, that is because it was.

In the study conducted by the Stanford University School of Medicine, MRI scans were done on 46 tweens between 7 and 16 years old.

Their brain activity was recorded as they listened to different people's voices and various sounds.

According to NJ.com, "The study found that when kids turn 13, the sound of their mother’s voice becomes far less rewarding and intriguing than that of a stranger."

So when your teenager is quick to take advice from their friends or random influencers before you, it is because their brain is wired to do so.

“This shift is reflected in neural activity measured from reward processing regions in response to brief vocal samples,” the authors wrote. “When younger children hear their mother’s voice, reward processing regions show greater activity compared to when they hear nonfamilial, unfamiliar voices. Strikingly, older adolescents show the opposite effect.”

As obnoxious as it is, this shows a sign of a healthy teenager with a properly maturing brain.

It makes sense because at first, you rely on your parents for everything.

It is almost like the human brain is telling teenagers it is time to grow up and rely on resources outside of their household, whether they are ready for it or not.

This study did not cover how teenagers, on average, react to their father's voice but I am beyond curious to see if the results are similar.

How could they not be?

So I guess the next time your teenager pulls a moody move and doesn't listen to what you have to say, just remember that it is because of science, not because of you.

But I promise you that no matter how upset your teenager is, there is one thing that is always guaranteed to cheer things up: food.

Go get a burger. Go get ice cream! Just get something and you'll thank me later.