by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Behavior Change, Education, Encouragement, Parent-child Communication, Parenting, Parenting Books, Strong for Parenting, Teen Success, Teen Suicide
Truth-telling time. The most common mistake parents make when interacting with their child is failing to recognize when they should be listening, and they miss the opportunity. I call these opportunities listening moments. Here are some of the most common parent-child...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Education, Health & Nutrition, Mentoring, Parenting Blogs, Self-Esteem, Teen Success, Work
True story: A young couple got married, and after the honeymoon the guy discovered his new wife didn’t know how to boil an egg. Yes, he should have known this about her. But as a former Boy Scout, he got to work to help her learn to cook. Also, the young...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Critical Thinking, Education, Parenting Books, Teen Success
When asked about teen brain development, I’m challenged to boil a huge amount of research down to a few facts. Here’s how I explain it: At the onset of puberty, a child’s body and brain are flooded with growth hormones. The resulting changes in the...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Behavior Change, Encouragement, Parent-child Communication, Parenting, Parenting Books, Teen Suicide
A hard truth: One of the toughest things about being a parent is the mistakes we make. When I was a parent, I got lucky. I followed my best instincts and made some good things happen. But nobody’s perfect, as they say, and I also lost my temper quite a few...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Alcohol, Drugs, Encouragement, Mentoring, Parent-child Communication, Parenting Blogs, Peer Pressure, Self-Esteem, Teen Culture, Teen Sex, Teen Success
Teens need to be liked and included by friends. And in all sorts of ways, friends can pressure your child to conform and get involved in what they’re doing. Not all peer pressure is bad. If your child’s friends have good values, they can influence your...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Critical Thinking, Education, Parenting, Parenting Books, Teen Success
If you like to read, here’s a good article from the Stanford Children’s Health website about the developing teenage brain. It attempts to explain how teens eventually grow out of thinking emotionally to thinking logically. As the article says, not all...
