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Children today are under enormous pressures rarely experienced by their parents or grandparents. Many of today's children are being enticed to grow up too quickly and are encountering challenges for which they are totally unprepared.

Parenting style matters - a lot!

It's more effective to reward your child for being "good" (appropriate) than to punish him for being "bad" (inappropriate).

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

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)

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.

The challenge of adolescence is to balance the right of the parents to feel they are in charge with the need of the adolescent to gain independence.

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

"Moody" and "unpredictable" are adjectives parents will often use when referring to their teenagers.

Don't wait for him to turn 10 before you reveal that you are not in fact the hired help whose job it is to clean up after him.

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Sleep Problems

    Sleep problems are common in children and often cause significant frustration, worry and anger in the home. Sleep problems are not the same in children as they are in adults. For example, infants and toddlers who are not sleeping well do not complain – their parents do. Young children are usually more unhappy about having to go to bed than about any inability to fall asleep, in fact they are more likely to […]

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FAQ re: ADD/ADHD (# 2)

                  Question – Do ADD/ADHD children also have other significant problems? Answer – yes A incomplete list of common conditions that coexist with ADD/ADHD include: learning disabilities oppositional defiant disorder conduct disorder anxiety disorder obsessive compulsive disorder depression bipolar tic disorder Asperger’s sensory integration dysfunction sleep disorders

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FAQ re: ADHD (#1)

    Is it true boys have ADD/ADHD more often than girls? The short answer is “yes” – 3 to 6 times more boys. The longer answer – girls may be under diagnosed because they typically display less severe social problems. Boys are more risk of developing almost any childhood behavioural or emotional problems except depression and eating disorders.

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Quotes from the Medical Minority re: ADD/ADHD

As mentioned in a previous blog, there is no consensus among the medical community regarding the cause and treatments for ADD/ADHD. In fact there are even doctors who question whether ADD/ADHD even exists. This medical minority believe that the individuals diagnosed with this disorder are nothing more than people who occupy one extreme end of the range of some behavioural characteristics. Note the following quotes from some of the medical minority: “Research does not confirm […]

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Child & Youth Worker – Fanshawe College, Woodstock

    The CYW students from Fanshawe College , Woodstock  campus have started their 16 week work placement in County and beyond schools and agencies. The CYW course is a 3 year diploma program that equips students to provide services to a wide variety and age range of young people. I have had the privilege of teaching and supervising in this program for many years now and look forward once again to the upcoming school […]

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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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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 were so naive. We thought our son’s poor behaviour was just a phase he was passing through. Thankfully you led us ‘out of the wilderness'”

(N.S. – London)