by Dennis Coates | May 4, 2024 | Adolescence, Behavior Change, Personal Strength, Self-Esteem, Teen Success
I remember an incident in which my two sons were playing together outside. One got mad at the other and it came to blows. In retrospect, I understand that a contributing factor was their underdeveloped ability to exercise empathy. That was then, over 40 years ago....
by Dennis Coates | Apr 4, 2024 | Adolescence, Behavior Change, Critical Thinking, Parent-child Communication, Parenting, Parenting Books
The great thing about a mistake or any bad experience is that you can learn from it. But it’s just as easy, if not easier, to not learn a thing. Kids make go through a lot of emotions on the way to growing up. They have so much to learn and the road can be...
by Dennis Coates | Feb 19, 2024 | Adolescence, Parent-child Communication, Parenting, Parenting Books, Teen Success
At about the age of 12, plus or minus, a child’s body and brain are flooded with growth hormones to begin the physical development needed to become an adult. The growth period lasts about ten years. We call it adolescence. During this gradual transformation, the...
by Dennis Coates | Dec 12, 2023 | Adolescence, Critical Thinking, Parent-child Communication, Parenting, Parenting Blogs, Strong for Parenting
I was in a hurry to get home, but so were many other people in rush hour traffic. I had to wait in line to turn right and then immediately I had to wait in a long line at a stoplight. When the light turned green, the car in front of me didn’t move. The driver...
by Dennis Coates | Sep 24, 2023 | Adolescence, Behavior Change, Parent-child Communication, Parenting Books
Have you ever heard somebody use the term “lean in”? It quickly became common as a business motto in 2013, taken from the title of the book. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, by Sheryl Sandberg, the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, and Nell...
by Dennis Coates | Jul 30, 2023 | Adolescence, Self-Esteem, Teen Culture
A classic conflict: a teenager who is discovering who they are and wanting to be popular is tempted to give in to peer pressure to do things that are ill-advised or even dangerous. It’s the kind of conflict that few teens know how to deal with. Have you tried...
