by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Critical Thinking, Education, Parenting
I accidentally help wire my boys’ teen brains for critical thinking. It was Christmas 1982, and like all parents at the time, I knew nothing about the teen brain. But I didn’t think twice about what to give them for Christmas. It just seemed like a great...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Parent-child Communication, Parenting, Parenting Books
Between Parent & Teenager (1967), by Dr. Haim G. Ginott, was published before many of today’s parents of teenagers were born. Ginott, who has been dead for forty years, was a well-known child psychologist and parent educator. His insight was to encourage...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Parenting, Self-Esteem, Work
Helicopter parenting has been the focus of quite a few articles in the media. Parents over-praising their kids because they feel it promotes self-esteem, even though in the long run it creates adults who are afraid to fail and so play it safe. Parents intervening to...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Critical Thinking, Drugs, Parenting, Parenting Videos, Personal Strength
Have you seen the movie, “Lonesome Jim” (2005)? Starring Casey Affleck and Liv Tyler, it’s the story of a man in his late twenties who, after failing to create a life for himself in New York City, returns home to live with his parents while he...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Behavior Change, Inspiring Quotes, Personal Strength, Work
I once coached a 43-year-old man who lived at home and had never worked a day in his life. At the time, interest rates had fallen to all-time lows, so the annual interest on his trust fund principal had diminished considerably. To continue living in the style to which...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Alcohol, Drugs, Education, Encouragement, Parent-child Communication, Parenting, Parenting Books, Teen Success
I’ve written two books, Conversations with the Wise Uncle (for boys) and Conversations with the Wise Aunt (for girls) that are fictional accounts about an older relative mentoring a young person during the teen years to give the child a “heads up”...
