Some teens do some wild and outrageous things. These daredevils often push the limits. In their overconfidence, they press their luck and flirt with danger, even if it means risking their lives. From scaling a building to plunging off the side of a cliff into frigid cold water, daredevil teens will go to great extremes to get a rush, with new stories and YouTube clips capturing some of these hazardous acts.
Adolescents and young adults are at the highest risk for injuries of any age group. For this group, accidents are the leading cause of death. The vast majority of these deaths involve vehicles, violence, falls, and sports and recreations incidents. When it comes to reckless antics, teens risk not only death but getting seriously hurt, like traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, falls are the leading cause of TBI, and they result in the greatest number of emergency room visits and hospitalizations each year. But TBI isn’t the only concern. The American Spinal Injury Association reports that approximately 20 percent of spinal cord injuries occur in children and adolescents. The most common cause of pediatric SCI is motor vehicle crashes, followed by falls. Both TBI and SCI can lead to lifelong disabilities that can affect a youth’s ability to think, speak, breathe and move. The vast majority of these injuries are preventable.
[Read: Teens and Energy Drinks: a Potentially Dangerous Combination.]
If you’re the parent of a daredevil, you’ve probably spent long hours worrying about your kid’s safety. But have you ever wondered what makes them take such risks? Were they born to be wild or is this just a phase they’re going through?
Well, brace yourself, because, despite the previous belief that teens act impulsively and think they’re invincible, they actually do put some time into thinking about their decisions. Research shows teens are more likely to weigh the risks than adults, and get this: They even overestimate the risks! So, if that’s the case, why on earth do they pull these outrageous shenanigans? The answer is simple: They are curious. Teens lack experience, and they want to try new things. They also like immediate gratification, and the surge of dopamine and adrenaline is sure to give them that instant high. But what’s also important is peer acceptance. So if peers are egging them on or daring them to take a risk, they’re more apt to go for it.
Another possible explanation for these reckless behaviors is that teens may genetically be hard-wired to be daredevils. There’s some inconclusive research that suggests genetics may be at play; and, what’s been termed the “daredevil gene” helps explain why some youth are more prone to sensation-seeking than others. Regardless, concerning evidence suggests high sensation-seeking has been associated with depression, substance use and suicidal behaviors. This research supports the notion that for many risk-taking teens, the biggest obstacle they’re facing is emotional and psychological rather than daring and death-defying.
So what can you do to curb your daredevil’s over-the-top risk-taking? Here are five ways to deter reckless behavior:
1. Do this, not that. Teens lives are revved up and driven by their emotional wants and needs. The rational side of their brain is often overruled by the emotional side. They crave exciting adventures, since these are more enticing and fun. These youth need a safe outlet to push their limits and channel that energy in healthier ways.
So instead of telling them not to do something, give them a safer option. For example, if they’re going to do back flips off the side of the house and run up walls, find sports that match their desires (allowing them to do something similar but safer). There are numerous adventurous sports, such as Parkour, CrossFit or obstacle course racing, that allow teens to push the limits. If you go this route, be sure to find a facility with a certified trainer where teens can safely learn the proper techniques associated with the sport while getting the chemical rush they crave.
[Read: Let Them Take Risks.]
2. Go on an adventure. Take your daredevil to a new and exciting place. Go skydiving, rock climbing, wakeboarding or parasailing; send them to a week-long survival camp; go whitewater rafting; or take them to an amusement park to ride all the fastest roller coasters. The point is, teens can find safer ways to experience new and exciting things, rather than filming themselves scaling a building.
3. Make real moments teachable moments. Use the social media clips of daredevil stunts gone bad to speak with your teen about the dangers associated with living on the edge. Also, discuss how peers can influence poor decisions. There is power in using real-life clips as teachable moments. Once teens change their perception of something, it increases their awareness and understanding which may, in turn, help them make better decisions.
4. Don’t let them idle. There is one thing daredevils don’t do well and that’s idle. These teens are usually on the go and get bored easily. Although that can be exhausting to a parent, the truth is it’s better to have them moving in a safe direction than conjuring up their own exciting adventure. Keep them busy by finding something to occupy their time. Think about it. If your kid has been thrill-seeking all of her life, odds are she’s not going to be working at a desk job in the future. She has a drive and need for novelty. So go ahead and expose her to new and exciting opportunities that moderate the risks, so she doesn’t seek her own ways to accentuate them.
5. Recognize the warning signs, and get help. It’s one thing if a teen’s hard-wired to be a daredevil and another if he’s crying out for help. If your daredevil will go to great lengths to get attention, he may be needing something more than a thrill. Continual reckless sensation-seeking has been related to drug use, binge drinking, unsafe sex and reckless driving, along with other risky behaviors. A trained mental health professional can help determine if there is something underlying the dangerous behaviors, like depression or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. They can also help your teen learn healthier and safer coping skills that remove him from harm’s way.
It’s important to mention that we need sensation-seekers in the world. These are often the people that rush off to fight forest fires, work in the emergency rooms, do stunts in our favorite action movies or perform maintenance on a 300-plus-foot wind turbine, among many other occupations that attract thrill-seekers. Don’t try to squash the adventurous side of your teen. Rather, help your child channel it in a more productive way.
[Read: Parents: Get Inside Your Adolescent’s Brain to Prevent Addiction.]
Fortunately, research shows that most reckless daredevil behaviors peak around age 19, and then they begin to decline. So, if you’re the parent, hang in there. And in the meantime, make sure to talk with your teen, using real moments as teachable ones, so that your child is able to carefully embrace his or her adventurous side. It’s better to err on the side of caution than to throw caution to the wind.
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Is Your Teen a Daredevil? originally appeared on usnews.com
