by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Health & Nutrition, Parenting, Peer Pressure, Teen Culture, Teen Suicide
If you found out your teen daughter was experiencing pressure from the cool kids to “hook up” with boys, would you encourage her to go along in order to be well-liked? I admit, it’s a silly question. Of course you wouldn’t. The many risks are...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Behavior Change, Critical Thinking, Education, Encouragement, Parenting, Personal Strength, Self-Esteem, Teen Success, Work, Youth Athletics
I’ve lived long enough to be aware of the sometimes remarkable paths that lives take. When I was a West Point cadet, my activities and achievements were quite a bit different from my high school experience. I know the same was true of my classmates. For example,...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Guest Blog Posts, Parenting, Parenting Blogs
Helping an adolescent child grow up to be a happy, successful, and independent adult has never been easy. Try doing it without a spouse. Or both parents having to work a full-time job. Or the disturbing influences of rapidly innovating technology with its shiny...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Alcohol, Critical Thinking, Education, Parenting, Personal Strength, Teen Success
I once had a conversation with an intelligent woman about the value of team sports. She said emphatically that the idea that team sports promoted teen development was utter nonsense (not her words) and that team sports promoted aggressiveness and generally callous...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Alcohol, Drugs, Education
For years now, instead of saying “Drive safely!” when people I care about are getting into their cars, I tell them, “Watch out for the crazies!” I know, it sounds a little weird. But not really. What I’m referring to are the “other...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Education, Parenting, Teen Driving
In another post about teen driving, I made this recommendation: The key is for your prospective young driver to prove that he or she is responsible enough for you to trust them to leave your driveway in your car. This trust has to be earned over a period of years, not...
