by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Critical Thinking, Education, Encouragement, Parenting Books, Rebellion, Self-Esteem
Fact: If you haven’t nurtured a loving, trusting relationship with your child, they won’t be open to your guidance. And they need a lot of guidance. During the first 20 years of life, they have a lot of growing up to do as they avoid the pitfalls of...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Parent-child Communication, Parenting, Rebellion
Both my sons are in their 50s, still pursuing highly successful careers in IT. But I’m still trying to communicate with them effectively, being aware of moments when a particular skill will work best for me — with my sons, and also with my wife, my...
by Dennis Coates | Behavior Change, Encouragement, Parent-child Communication, Parenting, Parenting Books, Rebellion, Uncategorized
So many of the emotional flare-ups and conflicts that arise between parent and child are triggered by the failure to communicate effectively. Instead, we react emotionally, with frustration or anger. It’s only natural, but it alienates your child. It’s an...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Behavior Change, Encouragement, Parent-child Communication, Parenting, Rebellion, Strong for Parenting, Teen Success
Trying to conserve on electricity, you ask the family to turn off lights when leaving a room that they don’t plan to return to soon. But most of the time your son/daughter forgets to do this simple thing. You remind them and they agree to try harder. But when...
by Dennis Coates | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Health & Nutrition, Parenting Books, Rebellion, Teen Culture, Teen Suicide
As Tom Kersting points out in his new book, Disconnected, kids graduating from college these days are the first generation to experience their entire adolescence while owning a smartphone. As a result, they spend hours a day glued to the small screen while engaged...
by Dennis Coates | Behavior Change, Education, Encouragement, Parent-child Communication, Rebellion
A young father was telling me about his two children, a seven-year-old girl and a three-year-old boy. “My daughter is an angel, but my little boy is a terror. He defies me every chance he gets. At lunch I asked him to come to the dinner table and he refused....
