by Dennis Coates | Apr 26, 2016 | 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 | Apr 20, 2016 | 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 | Mar 30, 2016 | 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 | Mar 20, 2016 | Adolescence, Inspiring Quotes, Parenting, Parenting Books
I was fortunate to have two parents while growing up: a father and a mother who loved me. They were good people. They did everything they knew how to take care of a household of eight kids. But to be honest, they didn’t raise me with a clearly envisioned outcome in...
by Dennis Coates | Mar 14, 2016 | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Parent-child Communication, Parenting
Dad lets his son borrow the car. “Be sure to have it back by six. I’ve got an important place to be tonight.” “No problem, Dad.” Six o’clock comes and goes. With no sign of his son, he makes the call. “Where are you? I said I...
by Dennis Coates | Mar 3, 2016 | Adolescence, Education, Mentoring, Parent-child Communication, Parenting, Personal Strength, Programs, Strong for Parenting, Teen Success
In his classic parenting book, The Wonder of Boys, psychologist Michael Gurian claims that “three families – not one” are needed to raise a healthy child to be a happy, successful adult. The first family is the “nuclear family”—the parents and grandparents who raise...
