by Dennis Coates | Nov 1, 2016 | Adolescence, Inspiring Quotes, Parent-child Communication, Rebellion, Self-Esteem, Strong for Parenting
I learned to never disagree with my dad. For reasons I’ve never fully understood, the few times that I expressed a contrary point of view — when I was old enough to feel confident that I had something to say — he physically attacked me. He never hurt me, because I was...
by Dennis Coates | Oct 22, 2016 | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Critical Thinking, Education, Parenting, Parenting Books, Rebellion, Teen Culture, Teen Success, Work
Since the 1990’s, when Dr. Jay Giedd and his colleagues at the National Institute for Mental Health published their pioneering research about adolescent brain development, more than a dozen authors with different backgrounds have written about “the teen brain.” For...
by Dennis Coates | Oct 18, 2016 | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Critical Thinking, Education, Mentoring, Teen Success, Work
It was the summer of 1960, and I was 15. Elvis’ active duty service in the Army was behind him, and John Kennedy was running for President. My father, a chief warrant officer in the Army, had been reassigned to Germany and our family would follow six months later when...
by Dennis Coates | Oct 7, 2016 | Adolescence, Drugs, Guest Blog Posts, Health & Nutrition, Parent-child Communication, Parenting
When teens abuse any kind of drug – legal or illegal, prescription or OTC – it can disrupt ongoing brain development in the prefrontal cortex, with lifelong consequences. This guest post comes from Blaise Brooks, a mother of one, caregiver of two and a...
by Dennis Coates | Sep 28, 2016 | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Alcohol, Critical Thinking, Drugs, Education, Encouragement, Parenting, Teen Culture, Teen Success
In a separate post, I quoted Dr. Jay Giedd, the pioneering brain researcher who discovered that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is still under development during a child’s adolescence, that this is the “smart” area of the brain, and that wiring the PFC...
by Dennis Coates | Sep 23, 2016 | Adolescence, Education, Encouragement, Guest Blog Posts, Parenting, Parenting Blogs, Parenting Books, Self-Esteem
The second 10 years of a child’s life is their last opportunity to prepare for the challenges of adult life. This guest post was written by Elisabeth Stitt, a parenting expert who focuses on middle school adolescent children. She is the author of Parenting as a...
