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The quickest way to change your child’s behaviour is to first change your own.

If it  was going to be easy to raise kids, it never would have started with something called "labour".

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

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

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

The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice. (Peggy O'Mara)

Parents are the external regulator for kids who cannot regulate themselves.

Good parenting requires sacrifice. Childhood lasts for only a few brief years , but it should be given priority while it is passing before your eyes

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

There has been an explosion in the prescribing of medication for very young children, particularly preschool and kindergarten boys (Juli Zito , Univ. of Maryland)

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Suicide

THE NIGHTMARE of SUICIDE
Journal entry
“ I’m surprised I haven’t done it yet because I feel really terrible all the time. I just don’t have any courage but anyone else in my position would have already committed suicide.”       Rachel  age 15
                  – the peak age for suicide attempts is 16
                  – 19% of teens seriously consider suicide
                  – 6% actually attempt it
                  – only car accidents claim more teen lives than suicide
                  – in 90% of suicides there is an underlying psychiatric disorder
                                    – depression is most common
                                    – 50% of male suicides victims have depression
                                    – 70% of female suicides victims have depression
– there has been a 3 fold increase in teen suicides since 1960’s
– girls more likely to attempt suicide (2X)
– boys more likely to succeed (10X)
 
 
                  Why?      – increased drug / alcohol use
                                                      – breakdown in family
                                                      – more “pressured” world
                                                      – availability of guns
 
 
 – suicide is “contagious”
                  – other suicides result in clusters
                  – dramatizations of suicide (TV, movies, etc) are frequently followed by increased rate of suicide
                  – familial (combination of genetics & environment)
 
Suicide results from a convergence of factors
                  1. underlying psychiatric disorder
                  2. predisposition to suicidal thought
                  3. traumatic event
                                    – most common – relationship problems
                                                                        – school problems
                                                                        – trouble with law
                                                                        – bullying
                                                                        – pregnancy

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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 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)