In his classic parenting book, The Wonder of Boys, psychologist Michael Gurian claims that “three families – not one” are needed to raise a healthy child to be a happy, successful adult. The first family is the “nuclear family”—the parents and grandparents who raise...
Adults care a great deal about the youth in their communities. They want fewer kids to be at risk. They want more kids growing up to be strong, happy, successful adults. They're willing to be mentors to young people. And it’s important that they do because it takes a...
Teenagers know they're growing up, and they don't like being treated like little kids. They need the wisdom and guidance of parents and other adults. But they hate lectures, sarcasm, put-downs, screaming, commands, threats, ultimatums, shaming, judging, and blaming....
Studying well in school is important. Those 12 years - and university - are important. But along the way, a young person needs to learn many non-academic skills and strengths that are vital for relationships and a career. While some of this can be acquired from school...
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 from too...
Between Parent & Teenager (1967), by Dr. Haim G. Ginott, was published before many of today's parents of teenagers were born. Ginott, who has been dead for forty years, was a well-known child psychologist and parent educator. His insight was to encourage parents...
Drinking alcohol with the expressed purpose of getting "messed up"? Believe it or not, this is an activity practiced mostly by kids. Watch this brief video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbJhMumorNY What can a parent do? 1. Get the book, How Your Teen Can Grow a...
A few years ago my wife and I were doing some recreational house-hunting. While viewing a beautiful home, she commented, "I like this house but we'd need to replace all the tile floors." I thought the tile was nice. After mentally estimating the cost of replacement, I...
It's amazing what you see when you step outside the box. I've been focusing on the special challenge of raising teenagers for several years now, and I've been outside the box the whole time. Inside the box, you understand that you need to sacrifice and save money for...
About Dr. Denny Coates Through speaking and writing, Dr. Denny Coates' work is to give science-based information about adolescent brain development to parents and family professionals, so they can help young people wire their prefrontal cortex for...