by Dennis Coates | May 12, 2015 | Adolescence, Education, Parent-child Communication
The sound of the front door shutting announced that Ricardo was home from practice. His dad met him in the hallway. “How was it today?” “It was okay. We did a lot of conditioning drills and I’m beat.” “Good stuff. I’ll bet...
by Dennis Coates | May 12, 2015 | Adolescence, Mentoring, Parent-child Communication, Parenting, Peer Pressure, Self-Esteem
For many young people, low self-esteem comes with the territory. They don’t want to be thought of as children anymore, but they know they’re not adults. They lack the knowledge, skills, judgment, experience, resources, authority, confidence and maturity...
by Dennis Coates | May 11, 2015 | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Parenting, Teen Suicide
Not long ago I was sitting at a table drinking coffee and talking with Johann Eyfells, the world-famous Icelandic sculptor. At some point, I used the word “luck.” He quickly seized on the word. “Luck. What is luck?” From a man who has been on...
by Dennis Coates | May 1, 2015 | Adolescence, Behavior Change, Parenting, Teen Success, Work
Jennifer was a clerk at an auto parts store in Vista Hills. She got the job because Jackson, her husband, was a mechanic at the Chevrolet dealership and was friends with the owner. But she, like her husband, was a hard worker and added a lot more value than was...
by Dennis Coates | Apr 15, 2015 | Adolescence, Mentoring, Parent-child Communication, Parenting Books
For quite a while now, I’ve been involved in an anecdotal research project in which I interview adults about their experiences as teenagers. This effort has taught me a lot about what I call “the teen journey.” One day while visiting one of my best...
by Dennis Coates | Apr 12, 2015 | Adolescence, Parenting Books, Peer Pressure, Self-Esteem
Teens are famous for doing wild and crazy things without thinking about the consequences. I shudder when I remember some of my own antics as a teenager. Of course one of the reasons for this behavior is that they’re experimenting and exploring their independence...
