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Some hope their children will be like sponges soaking up the truth and wisdom imparted by their parents. However appealing this philosophy might be, it seldom seems to catch on with their children.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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Myths vs Facts – Suicide

MYTH VERSUS FACT
Knowing truth from fiction can make the difference!
Myth: Teens who talk about suicide never do.
Fact: Most of the time, people who attempt suicide have   provided significant clues to their intentions.
 
Myth: Nothing can stop someone once he has decided  to take his own life.
Fact: Most adolescents who contemplate suicide are torn. They are in pain and want their suffering to end.  They don’t necessarily want to die to make that  happen, but they can’t conceive of another way,  and too often their cries for help go unheeded.
 
Myth: talking about suicide with a teen may give them ideas.
Fact: While teens at risk might follow the model of a peer who committed suicide, talking about it in order  to prevent it will not encourage him to try it.
 
Myth: Only certain “types” of kids commit suicide.
Fact: There is no specific type. Socioeconomic status, intelligence, and culture don’t make a teen any   more or less vulnerable to suicidal thoughts or actions.

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Workshops

+ Behaviour Management (now available online)

This full day or 2 evening workshop will introduce you […]

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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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+ A Guided Tour of ADHD (now available online)

This workshop will present the facts, myths, misconceptions, controversy and […]

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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)