At puberty, a child's brain is primed to develop the kind of critical thinking that will make them successful as adults. This fact of adolescence is massively important but all too easy to forget. At puberty, the brain cells in their prefrontal cortex, the part of the...
A friend of mine wanted me to help him with a project. We met and talked about what might work, but we didn't agree on what to do. I told him, "Why don't you give more thought to what you'd like to do, and we can meet again to nail down the details." It was a good...
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 business partners,...
60 years ago, I drove the family car through the heart of Stuttgart, Germany. No one else was in the car. I was a responsible kid, and I was doing my best to stay safe and arrive home without a mishap. But like every young driver, I had a lot to learn. I was ignorant...
I sometimes reflect on what I'm grateful for. And not just on Thanksgiving. Number one for me is the fact that I'm still alive. I've sidestepped death a few times in my life. Plus, the lives of several dozen of my friends have already ended. But I'm still here,...
When asked about teen brain development, I'm challenged to boil a huge amount of research down to a few facts. Here's how I explain it: At the onset of puberty, a child's body and brain are flooded with growth hormones. The resulting changes in the body are visible;...
If you like to read, here's a good article from the Stanford Children's Health website about the developing teenage brain. It attempts to explain how teens eventually grow out of thinking emotionally to thinking logically. As the article says, not all teens develop...
As I write this, I'm aware that these are troubled times. So I was alarmed but not surprised at reports of a rising trend in teen suicide. The CDC says that suicide is the second leading cause of death among teenagers. The word "unthinkable" comes to mind. A teen...
The pandemic has been tough on kids. Online classes, more time at home...kids could be excused for spending more time in front of screens. While it's true that technology has some amazing benefits, there's this: It's addictive. The rewards from using it make a child...
Driving home, I saw a young man walking on the sidewalk. Shirtless in the midday sun, he sported a tanned, muscular body. He seemed oblivious to a future consequence: excessive exposure to solar radiation (sunlight) can cause skin cancer. The sight reminded me of a...