Boys’ brains land them in trouble

in the home affects brain development as well so you can expect delayed cognitive functioning because of that.’’

Walker has been NZ’s principal youth court judge since 2016 and is quick to point out that although the number of young men he sees in court outweighs that of girls, he doesn’t see them as more problematic.

When it comes to the boys who enter the justice system, the judge says they tend to have two things in common: a lack of good role models and those homes full of violence. Only 20% of family harm cases are reported to police, yet there were 150,000 police callouts in the past year and children were present in 80% of them.

‘‘If you do the sums that’s a huge number of children sharing and seeing family harm repeatedly in their lives. It affects the brain, it affects learned behaviour and it’s a problem for our future.’’

Like Wallis, he says intervention needs to begin early. Teachers he speaks to say they can identify at five or six years’ old the kids who are going to get into trouble.

‘‘I don’t doubt them, but what really worries me is what are we doing about that early identification? Not much and that’s the problem.’’

Brainwave Trust national coach Andre´ Nga¯po¯ (Nga¯ti Porou, Nga¯ti Awa, Nga¯puhi and Nga¯ti Tamatera¯) says there’s a lot of negative perceptions about teenagers and boys in particular, often unhelpfully fuelled by the media.

‘‘You know the ones: they sleep all day, typical teens, inconsiderate and ill-mannered. But defining rangitahi and negative stereotypes can be like a self fulfilling prophecy.’’

He says despite impulsivity peaking around 14 to 16 years old, teenagers are able to assess and judge risks, it’s just that more often than not they deem the payoff as being worth it.

‘‘In the prescence of peers rangitahi are more likely to take risks because the reward they get from their brains – that dopamine hit – is so strong.’’

Like the other experts, Nga¯ po¯ says there are massively wide social implications at play when it comes to dealing with our young men. But in general, a mix of factors can help them keep safe and make good decisions: love, limits, empathy and at least one good role model, not necessarily a parent.

Limits might look like limiting screen time so they can get enough sleep and delaying the use of alcohol for as long as possible.

Providing opportunities for them to take more controlled risks and listening without judgment can go a long way.

Research and anecdotal evidence also points to the importance of cultural identity, whanaungatanga and traditional practices like waka ama [canoeing], whare tapere [community houses where people can gather for song and dance] and understanding historical ways of viewing trauma as ways to protect young people.

And though Nga¯po¯ says a NZ study found about 20% of teenagers are engaging in clinically concerning physical or emotional health risk behaviours, we can still take a bit of reassurance from that.

‘‘That means roughly 80% are navigating these years successfully.’’

‘‘In the prescence of peers rangitahi are more likely to take risks because the reward they get from their brains – that dopamine hit – is so strong.’’ Andre´ Nga¯ po¯