[Supermans]

Originally Posted by SSRider

I could really go off here but I will tone it down (on the subject matter not the person posting).

Your are missing the point (no offense, I respect your opinion) but the Doc is correct. The synaptic connections are not fully hooked up to the prefrontal cortex until about age 21 or so . I am not a Doc but I learned this many years ago at a parenting class that I and my wife attended. This does not mean that they (young people) are not capable of learning highly skilled tasks such as competative driving or any other sport for that matter. However their ability to know their limits, make judgements and asses risks are not that of a fully developed adult brain especially under stressful conditions or when highly aroused. I have two sons ages 23 and 17 i have observed this in a loving manner with both. When my oldest was a teenager, he never drove my 500hp Vette (alone) for that reason and niether will my youngest drive my SS alone. Drivers Ed is not the answer (at least not in its current form), this has been tried for many years with little or no improvement in teenage drivers. I know the stats here because I work for a large auto insurance company. Students with better grades are typically more responsible drivers. But as a parent you can't beat the shit out of your kids until they get good grades. This sort of defeats the purpose and goes against being a role model for your kids. BTW one other important factoid that comes to mind is the impact of alcohol consumption on the imature brain.....let's just say that it's scary I was unable to show enough evidence to my oldest son to impact a decision to say no to boose, he started drinking around age 16. However I stopped drinking alcohol three years ago and this plus education has my youngest son (17 years) alcohol, smoke and drug free, so far. Parents can have a significant impact on their children by repeatedly demonstating the type of behaviors that are responsible. It frustrates me when our children die needlesly. I should zip my thoughts here