by Dennis Coates | Aug 20, 2016 | Critical Thinking, Parenting, Parenting Blogs, Parenting Books, Parenting Videos
As a parent, you have four ways of taking action… You do what other people tell you to do. Husband. Friend. Relative. Your TV. You react instinctively, emotionally. You unconsciously act out of habit. Your brain is wired for a particular behavior pattern. You...
by Dennis Coates | Jul 25, 2016 | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Critical Thinking, Education, Mentoring, Parenting, Parenting Books, Peer Pressure, Teen Culture, Teen Success
I have a 15-year-old nephew. The last time I saw him he was doing what most kids his age are doing: sitting on a couch browsing his smartphone. At the time I was thinking that a lot of unused brain cell connections were in the process of being “pruned”...
by Dennis Coates | Jun 10, 2016 | Parent-child Communication, Parenting Books
Mindful – an often-used word. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it means “aware of something that may be important.” Aware – feel or experience something Something that may be important. One of the most important things you can be...
by Dennis Coates | May 17, 2016 | Adolescence, Education, Parenting, Parenting Books, Self-Esteem, Teen Success, Work
How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success (Holt, 2015), by Julie Lythcott-Haims, is the best book ever written about the kind of overparenting that has produced the struggling young adults of the Millennial...
by Dennis Coates | Apr 26, 2016 | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Alcohol, Critical Thinking, Education, Encouragement, Parent-child Communication, Parenting Books, Teen Culture, Teen Success
I’ve posted before about the importance of critical thinking and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a young person to lay down a foundation of critical thinking skills in the developing prefrontal cortex – what I often refer to as “the smart...
by Dennis Coates | Mar 30, 2016 | Adolescence, Inspiring Quotes, Parenting, Parenting Books, Parenting Videos, Teen Success, Work
Do you have a teenager who sometimes looks to the future and wonders how he or she is going to make it in the world? If you do, count your blessings. Most kids don’t start thinking about this until after they leave home. When I was teaching at the College of...
