by Dennis Coates | Apr 19, 2020 | Critical Thinking, Education, Fitness, Health & Nutrition, Mentoring, Parent-child Communication, Parenting, Personal Strength, Self-Esteem, Teen Driving, Teen Success
ADULTING: “The practice of behaving in a way characteristic of a responsible adult, especially the accomplishment of mundane but necessary tasks.” I borrowed this excellent definition from an online search; the term is too new to be included in the...
by Dennis Coates | Jan 20, 2020 | Adolescence, Adolescent Brain, Behavior Change, Critical Thinking, Education, Encouragement, Parenting, Personal Strength, Self-Esteem, Teen Success, Work, Youth Athletics
I’ve lived long enough to be aware of the sometimes remarkable paths that lives take. When I was a West Point cadet, my activities and achievements were quite a bit different from my high school experience. I know the same was true of my classmates. For example,...
by Dennis Coates | Sep 8, 2019 | Behavior Change, Critical Thinking, Parenting, Personal Strength, Self-Esteem
My wife and I were going to visit a friend. Our route took us to a stop sign at a T-junction at an Interstate access road. We could turn left or right to get to our destination. My wife said, “Turn left.” I replied that the shorter and quicker route would...
by Dennis Coates | Aug 5, 2019 | Adolescent Brain, Critical Thinking, Education, Parent-child Communication, Self-Esteem, Teen Success
This weekend we’re headed to Corpus Christie to celebrate our niece’s wedding. Since our go-to cat sitter isn’t available, we found a 15-year-old young man who wanted the job. He came to our home to be briefed, and I had a chance to talk with him. Me...
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 | Jul 21, 2019 | Parent-child Communication, Peer Pressure, Self-Esteem, Teen Success
Both my sons are 50 years old (plus or minus), have successful careers in IT, and in many ways are smarter than I am. They certainly do make more money than I do. But honestly, I can’t take credit for how they turned out. Yes, I was mostly a kind father, I...