by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Alcohol, Critical Thinking, Education, Encouragement, Parent-child Communication, Parenting Books, Teen Culture, Teen Success
I’ve posted before about the importance of critical thinking and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a young person to lay down a foundation of critical thinking skills in the developing prefrontal cortex – what I often refer to as “the smart...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Parenting, Teen Success
On the occasion of my 50th class reunion, I remembered some of my West Point classmates. One in particular, I’ll call him Joey Sheed, graduated near the top of our class. As a freshman, I was in awe of him. We attended several classes together, and he never...
by Dennis Coates | Behavior Change, Parent-child Communication, Personal Strength, Programs, Self-Esteem, Teen Success
When you were in high school, did you take that Parent-Child Relationship Skills course? I’m sorry – trick question. No such course has ever been included in a high school curriculum. Well, how about college? No? Any other course in your church or...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Inspiring Quotes, Parenting, Parenting Books, Parenting Videos, Teen Success, Work
Do you have a teenager who sometimes looks to the future and wonders how he or she is going to make it in the world? If you do, count your blessings. Most kids don’t start thinking about this until after they leave home. When I was teaching at the College of...
by Dennis Coates | Parenting, Parenting Books, Personal Strength, Self-Esteem, Teen Success, Work
A friend of mine grew up in a family of 12 children. Her mom spent most of her day managing the office of her father, a successful lawyer and politician. To manage both the office and her large family, her mother assigned tasks to each of the kids, according to their...
