Why Teens are Lousy at Chores LiveScience Staff

LiveScience.com
Wed May 18,12:14 PM ET

Finally researchers have come up with a reason other
than pure laziness for why teenagers can't shower and
brush their teeth or unload the dishwasher and wipe
down the counter.

Blame it on "cognitive limitations." Their brains
can't multitask as well as those of the taskmasters.

Trust, however, that they'll grow out of it.

The part of the brain responsible for multitasking
continues to develop until late adolescence, with
cells making connections even after some children are
old enough to drive, according to a new study in the
May/June issue of the journal Child Development.

The frontal cortex, which starts just behind the eyes
and goes back almost to the ears, figures out (or
doesn't) what to do when a person is asked to juggle
multiple pieces of information. Imagine, then, how
"make your bed and bring the laundry down" might
befuddle a 13-year-old.

In one of the study's tests, subjects between ages 9
and 20 were given multiple pieces of information, then
asked to re-order the information to formulate an
accurate response to a question. In another of several
tests, they were asked to find hidden items using a
high degree of strategic thinking.

The ability to remember multiple bits of information
developed through age 13 to 15, the study found. But
strategic self-organized thinking, the type that
demands a high level of multi-tasking skill, continues
to develop until ages 16 to 17.

The notion is not entirely new. Brain imaging has
suggested as much.

"Our findings lend behavioral support to that work and
indicate that the frontal lobe is continuing to
develop until late adolescence in a manner that
depends upon the complexity of the task that is being
demanded," said lead researcher Monica Luciana, an
associate professor of psychology at the University of
Minnesota.

Unfortunately the study did not reveal any solution to
parents at their wits' end over the problem. But
Luciana did offer this advice:

"We need to keep their cognitive limitations in mind,
especially when adolescents are confronted with
demanding situations in the classroom, at home, or in
social gatherings."