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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)

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

Children fare better when expectations on them are clear and firm.

"Unexpressed feeling never die. They are buried alive and come back later in ugly ways." (Stephen Covey)

It is what we say and do when we're angry that creates the very model our children will follow when dealing with their own frustrations.

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

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

If you (parents) tend to overreact to your child's misbehaviour - your child learns that he can't trust you. Mom, Dad, stay regulated!

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

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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“DOOM” by Lori – age 15

DOOM                                       by Lori – age 15
                                    The only visible light          
                                    Into darkness
                                    The only relief is
                                    Cut into my flesh
                                    As deep as sadness
                                    Pain passes away
                                    But I will be left with the scars
                                    From the past
 
                                    I hear vividly the sounds
                                    The screams.
                                    I am but a bug
                                    Invisible to life
                                    Picked on when sought.
                                    Pain is an addiction
                                    The only life I’ve known.
 
                                    Blood returns me to life
                                    But at any mistake may turn me away
                                    Sadness is but a dream,
                                    Supplied by the haunted past.
                                    Shame upon the head
                                    Grows older into endless time.
                                    Until the next time
                                    I wait in endless time
                                    For the end.
 
This poem was written by a 15 year old girl suffering from:
                  – depression
                  – anxiety disorder
 
She was “cutting” and experiencing significant school problems
 
The poem suggests she feels:
                  – insignificant
                  – numb
                  – alone
                  – detached
                  – suicidal

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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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“You have changed our life! Thanks, it needed changing!”

(T.N. – London)