by Dennis Coates | 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 | Adolescent Brain, Education, Parent-child Communication, Parenting
Most mornings it’s still dark when I leave my driveway to head to the gym. Often during the school year as I pass a certain intersection, I see a car with its headlights on parked by the side of the road. It’s a parent – a caring, protective parent...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescent Brain, Education, Parenting
I have a friend whose dad had a personal library of several thousand books. When my friend was about ten years old, his dad enrolled him in a speed-reading course. Soon afterward, he began reading the classics of world literature. One great book at a time, he became a...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Rebellion
A few years ago, I had a reunion with some old high school buddies that I hadn’t seen in nearly 50 years. It was an amazing experience and a lot of fun. But I remember one comment my old friend Brian made about me: “Coates, you were always up to something. I...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Mentoring, Parent-child Communication
I’m just guessing, but it may be true that no teenager in the long history of planet Earth has ever been given “the brain talk,” even though it’s probably some of the most important information a teen can have. Nevertheless, imagine a young...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Alcohol, Parent-child Communication, Parenting
Adolescence is a perilous time. This is the period from about age 10 until the early 20s when the prefrontal cortex is going through the critical “use it or lose it” blossoming and pruning process on the way to establishing an individual’s foundation...
