by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Behavior Change, Education, Mentoring, Parent-child Communication, Parenting, Strong for Parenting, Teen Success, Work, Youth Athletics
I had the chance to interact with a niece recently, a high school freshman I hadn’t seen in a while. These encounters are rare, since both of us have busy lives and she lives 50 miles away. So I couldn’t help myself. I had to take the opportunity to gift...
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, 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 | Behavior Change, Encouragement, Mentoring, Parent-child Communication, Parenting Books, Teen Success
While each of the ten high-impact parent-child communication skills described in Connect with Your Kid are amazingly effective, their power magnifies greatly when used in combination. Without question, my favorite one-two combo is open-ended questions to encourage...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Education, Encouragement, Mentoring, Parent-child Communication, Parenting Books, Teen Success
What if you had great communication skills? Some parents do! But most don’t. When parents connect in ways that strengthen the bond with their child, kids are more open to parental guidance and wisdom. Most parents struggle with this. Learning powerful communication...
by Dennis Coates | Behavior Change, Education, Encouragement, Mentoring, Parent-child Communication, Parenting, Parenting Books, Programs, Teen Success
Communicating well is a foundation element of effective parenting. How can you be a parent to your child without communicating? Whenever there are problems between parent and child, ineffective communication is almost always a contributing factor. And yet, when you...
