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Simple rules adhered to when children are young can prevent more serious problems later.

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

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

"To be a man, a boy must see a man."  (J.R. Moehringer)

"Cutting" is a visible sign to the world that you are hurting.

If you are headed in the wrong direction as a parent - you are allowed to make a U-turn.

Many clinicians find it easier to tell parents their child has a brain-based disorder than suggest parenting changes. Jennifer Harris (psychiatrist)

Wouldn't it be nice if children would simply listen and learn.

Adolescence can be the cruelest place on earth. It can really be heartless.  ( Tori Amos)

We should not medicate the boys so they fit the school; we should change the school to fit the boy. (Leonard Sax, M.D. Ph.D)

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Lori’s note

Lori’s psychiatrist asked her to write something describing her life:
“Everybody is hurt sometime in his or her life. For me it started with my parents. But let me start further back. I was adopted in 1986 by my parents. In elementary school, people were not very nice to me. They spread rumours about me that I was a lesbian, which by the way, I’m not. Anyway, I had very few friends and was what they call a nerd or a dork. I did not know fashion, and I did not know “anything” that was cool. So this girl decided to do a makeover on me which was not a total success. On a more serious note, home wasn’t going too well either. I was being abused both mentally and physically. My dad would grab me and cover my mouth so I couldn’t scream and hit me and my mom yelled at me. It was hell. I decided to deal with my school problems by changing schools. There I did well in the beginning but my grades began to drop as I got more depressed. Soon the abuse got worse, my temper got worse, and I got serious depression. I began going to a child psychiatrist who finally got my dad to stop physically abusing me but up until a few months ago, my mom mentally abused me. School life went downhill. I began to get very depressed and stopped talking to a lot of people so they stopped talking to me so I lost many of my friends. My grades also dropped. Eventually I started cutting myself to relieve myself of the emotional pain. It became an addiction. When I finally told my parents and psychiatrist they sent me to a hospital. I made many friends and got better. But they discharged me too fast.  I got sick again. Now I’m sick and I’m still cutting myself and I can’t stop. I also tried overdosing but I spit it out. That’s my life.
 
Parents and teachers are key to recognizing signs of depression
– young people rarely say “I am depressed”
                                    – they indicate it indirectly with other words and by their behaviour. 

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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)