Teens need their parents just as much as infants do. In his Grand Rounds presentation at the NYU Langone Child Study Center on March 16, 2012, Jay Giedd, MD, of the National Institute of Mental Health, made that bold assertion. Here, he explains how adept the brain is at learning by exampleparticularly the example of parents. This process has a profound influence on brain development well into the mid20s, as young people's brains are still maturing. This reinforces the notion that for parents of kids of any age, if you want your children to act a certain way, it's important to practice what you preach.

Dr. Jay Giedd is Chief of the Section on Brain Imaging, Child Psychiatry Branch, at the National Institute of Mental Health.

You can learn more about the NYU Child Study Center, part of NYU Langone Medical Center, and its Grand Rounds series at http://www.nyulangone.org/locations/c....