Description: "It's completely normal for adolescence to feel confusing and unsettling." With a three-year waiting list for appointments, Dr. Kim Bung-nyun of Seoul National University Hospital is the psychiatrist parents most want to see. Now he shares his prescription for the teenage mind in his new book, A Thousand Wavering Moments: How a Child Becomes an Adult. Between schoolwork, after-school academies, performance assessments, and exams, today's kids are working hard at everything—yet somehow, the harder they try, the more anxious they become. Driven by the desire to do well, they're constantly pressured, and when they fall short, they blame themselves. For Korean parents who want to comfort their children's wounded hearts, Dr. Kim Bung-nyun—Korea's foremost parenting mentor and a child and adolescent psychiatry specialist at Seoul National University Hospital—has written this new book. As head of the national support center for developmental disability hub hospitals, Dr. Kim's recent research shows that searches for "ADHD" among teenagers have been rising sharply in recent years. He points out that the real concern isn't just teens wondering, "Could I have ADHD?" but that many go further and start wanting treatment for it. Indeed, parenting cafes and online communities are seeing more posts worrying about ADHD alongside concerns about teens' behavioral and academic struggles—and cases of ADHD medication being misused as a "focus pill" are also on the rise. What's fueling all this anxiety about ADHD? Dr. Kim traces the root cause to a triple burden that teenagers face. During puberty, the brain's frontal lobe temporarily loses some of its function while hormonal changes make emotional regulation more difficult—both of which contribute to declining concentration and excessive self-control, compounding teens' psychological distress. On top of this, even upper-elementary students are consumed by the idea that they "must focus on studying," and in a culture that idolizes the ultra-productive "it girl/boy" lifestyle, the inevitable confusion and anxiety of adolescence becomes even more painful. "Why has my child changed so much?" "How can I better help my child?" For parents bewildered by their teen's sensitivity, anxiety, anger, self-blame, and defiance, the author has a clear message: to ease the anxiety that torments both children and parents, we must understand the changes of adolescence and build the strength to weather them. Drawing on more than 30 years of real clinical experience with adolescent patients, this book brings together the topics parents are most curious about—emotions, learning, relationships, and future paths—organizing the struggles and concerns of this stage of life. It also includes self-assessments and practical tips on social skills, study methods, and mindfulness, offering useful ways for families to nurture their teens' mental well-being at home and guide them toward growth. About three years, a thousand days—the time it takes for a child to become an adult. Essential inner-strength and relationship-building practices to guide an anxious brain and anxious heart toward decisive growth. Generally, girls go through puberty from about 4th–5th grade through 9th grade, while boys go through it from about 5th–6th grade through 9th grade. While it varies by individual, children spend roughly three years—a thousand days—wavering their way toward adulthood. The most crucial change during this period is in the frontal lobe, which governs the overall functions that "make us human"—comprehension, emotion, problem-solving, impulse control, and attention regulation. Dr. Kim explains that because the adolescent frontal lobe is growing explosively day by day, it inevitably experiences a temporary dip in function. As the frontal lobe—which handles so much of the brain and heart's work—becomes more vulnerable, emotions naturally swing like a rollercoaster, making it harder to maintain steady relationships with friends and parents. Teens also become more vulnerable to various addictions, including gaming and social media, and struggle to develop good daily habits. In the end, teenagers experience growing pains across every part of themselves—brain, heart, and relationships. But just as the ground grows firmer after the rain, our children can only grow into sturdier adults once they've overcome these growing pains. This book is here to help them heal through that process...