by Dennis Coates | Aug 18, 2019 | Adolescence, Education, Health & Nutrition, Parent-child Communication, Teen Success
Getting a driver license is a rite of passage. Because of the way a vehicle empowers independence and how the license amounts to a badge of maturity, many teens look forward to this certification. And you want them – maybe you need them – to be able to...
by Dennis Coates | Jul 29, 2019 | Fitness, Health & Nutrition, Inspiring Quotes, Parent-child Communication, Peer Pressure, Self-Esteem, Teen Culture, Teen Sex, Teen Success
Young girls want to be pretty. They believe it will help make them popular and well-liked, and therefore be included in the fun and excitement with friends. And they’re probably right. Because every aspect of popular media promotes a classic form of female...
by Dennis Coates | Jun 11, 2019 | Adolescent Brain, Behavior Change, Critical Thinking, Education, Health & Nutrition, Parent-child Communication, Parenting Books, Parenting Videos, Programs, Self-Esteem
My book, How Your Teen Can Grow a Smarter Brain, and most of the hundreds of articles on this blog, address how to encourage, support and coach a young person during the adolescent years to wire their prefrontal cortex (PFC) for the thinking skills that they’ll...
by Dennis Coates | Jun 3, 2019 | Adolescent Brain, Drugs, Education, Health & Nutrition, Rebellion, Teen Culture
You don’t want your teen to smoke cigarettes. You don’t want your teen smoke marijuana. There’s the danger that normal development of the prefrontal cortex will be disrupted, with permanent consequences. Damage to lungs. Addiction. Gateway to other...
by Dennis Coates | Apr 2, 2019 | Adolescence, Critical Thinking, Education, Encouragement, Fitness, Health & Nutrition
What does it mean to be a parent? Every spring, a pair of swallows arrives at our front porch to update their nest and nurture offspring. A month or so later, their young leave the nest to learn the fine points of flying and finding food. This cycle sometimes repeats...
by Dennis Coates | Mar 22, 2019 | Adolescent Brain, Fitness, Guest Blog Posts, Health & Nutrition, Teen Success, Uncategorized
What’s happening as an adolescent child matures toward adulthood is complicated, so it’s important to know what’s going on. But when parents are given insightful information, their first question is: What should I do about it? In this post I share a...
