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Children do not develop on their own - they only develop within relationships.

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

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

The more 2 parents differ in their approaches to discipline, the more likely it leads to trouble for the child.

Criticism is not a motivator.

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

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

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

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

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

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Sad or Depressed – What’s the Difference?

    Sadness is an unpleasant emotion in response to certain events: Examples – loss of a loved one – disappointment in missing a hoped- for opportunity – struggling to adapt to unwelcome changes These and a multitude of other circumstances can result in a process that takes us through a sequence of emotions including worry, anxiety, tears, grieving which ultimately brings us relief. This is a healthy process. Depression is not healthy. Depression occurs […]

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Angry, Hurting Kids Who Swear

    An excerpt from Kirk Martin’s newsletter that is worth passing on: Angry children, kids who curse: what to say to them A sweet grandmother approached me after a workshop one day and asked, “What can we do to get my grandson to stop cursing? He’s got a foul mouth and talks disrespectfully.” This is beyond simple eye rolling and normal teenage attitude. Kids don’t usually use foul or aggressive language unless they have […]

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There’s Something Wrong Here!

  If a child doesn’t know how to read: we teach. If a child doesn’t know how to swim: we teach. If a child doesn’t know how to say “Please” and “Thank you”: we teach. If a child doesn’t know how to behave: we punish. There’s something wrong with this picture !

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The Most Important Job in the World

    Raising a child is the most important job you will ever do. It is challenging, scary, fulfilling, exciting, frustrating – ALL AT THE SAME TIME – Parenting is tough because we have so little training, yet the results are so important. If you’re in sales and you lose a sale, your pay cheque is smaller. If you’re in accounting and the books don’t balance, you stay late to find your error and correct […]

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Taming a Toddler

Most parents of newborns manage pretty well for the first year but as soon a the stubborn, self-centred, unreasonable toddler appears, many parents wonder what has hit them. Small children have an uncanny ability to unravel an adult nervous system. They are noisy and they make incredible messes and they bicker with one another and their noses drip and they scratch the furniture and they have more energy in their little fingers than mom has […]

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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)