by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Behavior Change, Encouragement, Parent-child Communication, Parenting, Parenting Books, Teen Suicide
A hard truth: One of the toughest things about being a parent is the mistakes we make. When I was a parent, I got lucky. I followed my best instincts and made some good things happen. But nobody’s perfect, as they say, and I also lost my temper quite a few...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Alcohol, Drugs, Encouragement, Mentoring, Parent-child Communication, Parenting Blogs, Peer Pressure, Self-Esteem, Teen Culture, Teen Sex, Teen Success
Teens need to be liked and included by friends. And in all sorts of ways, friends can pressure your child to conform and get involved in what they’re doing. Not all peer pressure is bad. If your child’s friends have good values, they can influence your...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Critical Thinking, Education, Parenting, Parenting Books, Teen Success
If you like to read, here’s a good article from the Stanford Children’s Health website about the developing teenage brain. It attempts to explain how teens eventually grow out of thinking emotionally to thinking logically. As the article says, not all...
by Dennis Coates | Behavior Change, Education, Health & Nutrition, Parenting, Peer Pressure, Personal Strength, Programs, Teen Culture, Teen Suicide
It’s June 2022, and we are learning about mass murders. Almost on a daily basis. Innocent people dying. Even little kids. Did you see this coming? If you didn’t see it coming, maybe it’s because you didn’t want to believe the signs all around...
by Dennis Coates | Critical Thinking, Encouragement, Parent-child Communication, Parenting Books, Teen Success, Teen Suicide, Uncategorized
I guess I’m a natural introvert, meaning I spend most of my time in my head, not interacting with people. Not that I can’t engage; I just prefer reflecting about the world around me. It’s a pattern that has served me well in learning, researching,...
