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The teenage years require a delicate balance between the young person's need to gain independence, and the parent's need to retain authority.

Relationships matter:  change comes through forming trusting relationships. People, not programs change people.

Being a parent of a teenager can cure a person of narcissism.

Whining and crying are employed by kids for the purpose of getting something. If it works, then it was worth the effort and will be repeated.

"Parents aren't the cause of ADHD, but they are part of the solution." (Kenny Handleman, M.D.)

"The thing that impresses me most about North America is the way parents obey their children"    (King Edward VII , 1841-1910)

You cannot reason with someone who is being unreasonable.

Early intervention is always better than crisis management - but it is never too late to do the right thing.

Removing a child from a traumatic environment does not remove the trauma from the child's memory.

When a child is disregulated - is the time parents need to be regulated.

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Encourage Playtime

 

 

Play is widespread throughout the animal kingdom suggesting that it must serve some vital function.  One way to find out what play is good for is to take it away from animals and see how they fare. The problem is that this experiment is nearly impossible to do. Animals (including children) are irrepressible; they play under the most adverse conditions. The only way to get an animal to stop playing is to restrain its mobility. This reverse restriction leads to decreases in physical activity and increases in stress, as measured by the amount of the stress hormone cortisol in saliva. Play, exercise and stress are closely linked. Play is crucial for the development of children as it is necessary for forming normal social connections.

Think of it this way: play is the work of children. It is perhaps the most effective way for them to learn life skills.

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Workshops

+ Behaviour Management (now available online)

This full day or 2 evening workshop will introduce you […]

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+ Lick Your Kids

  “Lick Your Kids” (figuratively not literally) (2 hours) First […]

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+ A Parent’s Guide to the Teenage Brain

  A teenager’s brain is not just an adult brain […]

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+ Reading Rescue

A program for children with reading problems

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+ Taming a Toddler

Many parents wonder what hit them when their sweet little baby turns into an unreasonable toddler – ideas for dealing with mealtime, bedtime, temper tanturms, toilet training, noncompliance, etc.

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See more of our workshops


Contact

2720 Rath Street, Putnam, Ontario
NOL 2BO

Phone: (519) 485-4678
Fax: (519) 485-0281

Email: info@rickharper.ca

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Parents' Comments

“We are foster parents who took in a 13 year old girl (going on 18!) and she ran us through the wringer. Rick helped us learn how to set limits that made the difference.”

(G.E. – Strathroy)