by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Alcohol, Drugs, Parent-child Communication, Parenting, Teen Culture, Teen Suicide
When they’re little you read to them, hoping they’ll learn to love books and reading and learning. Before you know it they’re in school, beginning a learning journey that will teach them about the world. And in half a dozen years, puberty begins the...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Critical Thinking, Parent-child Communication, Strong for Parenting
Teenagers know they’re growing up, and they don’t like being treated like little kids. They need the wisdom and guidance of parents and other adults. But they hate lectures, sarcasm, put-downs, screaming, commands, threats, ultimatums, shaming, judging,...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Education, Encouragement, Parenting, Parenting Books, Teen Success
What will the next step be? College? A job? Technical training? A gap year? Missionary work? Military service? Marriage and a family? Every parent who has raised a teenager to this threshold is concerned that the child will be able to handle the challenges and...
by Dennis Coates | Encouragement, Parenting
I was thinking about my mother recently. A few months before she died, Mom and I were talking on the phone about my seven brothers and sisters. I joked that she had so many kids because she loved taking care of babies. After one child left the infant stage, she would...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Guest Blog Posts, Parenting
This guest post comes from Elisabeth Stitt of Joyful Parenting Coaching. A veteran teacher turned parenting coach and blogger, she knows that kids and families come in all different shapes and sizes and that there is a long and varied list of parenting practices that...
