by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Drugs, Parent-child Communication, Peer Pressure, Self-Esteem, Strong for Parenting
A teenager made a dumb mistake and damaged a tool. His father, angry, shouted at him about carelessness and irresponsibility. No love, understanding or respect was communicated in the heated interchange. The boy felt like a failure and resented his father for putting...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Critical Thinking, Parent-child Communication, Parenting Books
It’s a “race against time” because your child has only one chance to exercise critical thinking repeatedly or the basic foundation wiring for intellect won’t happen. Time will run out at the end of adolescence and your child will have to live...
by Dennis Coates | Guest Blog Posts, Parent-child Communication, Self-Esteem
Special guest post by Winter Amity, freelance writer on technology and parenting topics. These days, children are exposed to a huge variety of media, and parents can get understandably upset about the kind of information they’re taking in. With mobile phones, tablets,...
by Dennis Coates | Encouragement, Parent-child Communication, Self-Esteem
I love this quote. In the end, it’s about how praise affects self-esteem. Self-esteem is how people see themselves – their perception of self-worth, who they believe they are. Low self-esteem can build from making mistakes, from not forgiving oneself, and...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Behavior Change, Critical Thinking, Parent-child Communication, Parenting
Kids can learn a lot from experience. But that doesn’t mean they will, just because something happened to them. Most of the time young people go from one life event to another without learning a thing. The same thing is true of adults! What makes the difference?...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Parent-child Communication
Listening is the most powerful skill a parent can have. It has the potential to “change the game” with regard to your relationship with your child. In my writing about this skill, I refer to it as “listening to understand,” a phrase I borrowed...
