by Dennis Coates | May 4, 2017 | Adolescent Brain, Education, Fitness, Health & Nutrition, Parent-child Communication, Parenting Books, Teen Success
A few years ago I wrote a book for middle school boys, called Conversations with the Wise Uncle. I then wrote a similar book for young girls. My purpose was to model some of the key conversations young people need to guide them along their journey to being adults....
by Dennis Coates | Jan 2, 2017 | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Critical Thinking, Parenting
If you read news articles, you know that it’s not uncommon to read about murder. I learn about such incidents all too often; I reflect on the loss of life, how the killer’s life will be horribly changed forever, and whether the tragic event could have been...
by Dennis Coates | Dec 22, 2016 | Adolescent Brain, Teen Success, Work
I stood under the front entrance canopy of the H.E.B. grocery store as I watched cold rain pouring onto the parking lot. Slowly moving toward me was a young woman pushing a train of about fifteen shopping carts. Her head was down as she leaned into the carts,...
by Dennis Coates | Dec 13, 2016 | Adolescent Brain, Education, Health & Nutrition, Parenting, Peer Pressure, Teen Culture
I recently spoke with a mother of three boys, ages 11, 13 and 15. She told me she and her husband plan to give all three sons video game consoles for Christmas. Of course, they’ll win a lot of “best mom and dad” points with these gifts. She and the father...
by Dennis Coates | Dec 9, 2016 | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Alcohol, Critical Thinking, Drugs, Guest Blog Posts
Doctors routinely warn women to avoid smoking and using alcohol or drugs during pregnancy. Why? Because the unborn child’s body and brain are slowly developing, and the mother’s blood provides materials to the placenta, which nurtures the growing fetus. If the mother...
by Dennis Coates | Oct 22, 2016 | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Critical Thinking, Education, Parenting, Parenting Books, Rebellion, Teen Culture, Teen Success, Work
Since the 1990’s, when Dr. Jay Giedd and his colleagues at the National Institute for Mental Health published their pioneering research about adolescent brain development, more than a dozen authors with different backgrounds have written about “the teen brain.” For...
