by Dennis Coates | Nov 14, 2017 | Adolescence, Encouragement, Inspiring Quotes, Parenting
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” I love this quote. For me, this plea for compassion hits home more than any other quote on the subject. It’s often attributed to Plato, but it comes from Ian Maclaren, 19th-century Scottish...
by Dennis Coates | Nov 2, 2017 | Adolescence, Self-Esteem, Teen Success
It’s true that when you came into this world, most of your situation was beyond your control. You didn’t get to choose the time in history you would appear or the place where you would grow up. You didn’t get to choose your parents or other members of your family. You...
by Dennis Coates | Oct 30, 2017 | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Alcohol, Critical Thinking, Drugs, Mentoring, Parenting, Teen Culture, Teen Success
About the teen brain, I have some good news and some bad news. First, the good news. Nearly every adult I talk to these days has heard about the teen brain. Fifteen years ago, this was not the case. At the turn of the century, the fact that the prefrontal cortex (PFC)...
by Dennis Coates | Sep 18, 2017 | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Alcohol, Critical Thinking, Drugs, Fitness, Health & Nutrition, Parent-child Communication, Peer Pressure, Self-Esteem, Teen Culture, Teen Sex, Work, Youth Athletics
What is self-esteem, anyway? Why is it important to a growing child? Why does it turn out to be a tough issue? What can parents do to nurture stronger self-esteem? Physically, I was a late-bloomer. When I was a freshman in high school, I was the shortest boy in my...
by Dennis Coates | Aug 31, 2017 | Adolescence, Education, Parent-child Communication, Peer Pressure, Self-Esteem, Teen Culture
How much wisdom did you have when you were 13? What did you know? More to the point, what insights about life – which could have helped you a lot back then – wouldn’t come until much later? I was always considered the smartest kid in my class. I took...
by Dennis Coates | Jul 25, 2017 | Adolescence, Guest Blog Posts, Health & Nutrition, Parent-child Communication, Parenting, Programs, Teen Culture, Teen Success
Smartphones are an amazing window into a world of countless marvels and dangers. Since kids have a lot to learn, giving a child a smartphone needs to be done with exquisite care. In this guest post, Scott Reddler (father of three and author of an infographic about...
