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Simple rules adhered to when children are young can prevent more serious problems later.

"Rules without relationship leads to rebellion" (Josh McDowell)

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.

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

"To be a man, a boy must see a man."  (J.R. Moehringer)

Criticism is not a motivator.

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

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

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

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

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10 Things To Do With a Pencil (if you’re ADHD)

    Fly it through the air. Roll it across your desk and let it fall to the floor. Stick it in the screw of the chair. Eat it. Poke your neighbour. Stick it up your nose. Pick the threads of your socks. Sharpen it . . . sharpen it again . . . sharpen it again . . . Pretend it is a drum stick. Lose it.

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Toilet Training (part 3)

    You would be wise to read my 2 previous postings about toilet training as a review before attempting this actual routine. Remember you can’t go far wrong: if you don’t start too early if you don’t force the child if you don’t panic Step # 1 Does he know he’s wet? Modern disposable diapers are too comfortable. I recommend that you use training pants as wet pants are cold, itchy and uncomfortable. You […]

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Toilet Training (part 2)

    As I stated in my previous blog many toilet training difficulties are really non problems. They stem from either: unrealistic expectations misleading advice A child’s neurological and physiological “systems” must be sufficiently developed in order to gain control of his bladder and bowels and there is a wide variation of ages when these 2 systems converge to make toilet training successful. At around 18 months of age the child’s reflex control begins to […]

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Toilet Training (part 1)

    “I am a grown man with a university degree. I consider myself to be mature, well adjusted and able to exist adequately in our modern society . As such, I never would have believed the exhilaration and pride  I experienced when my son did his first “slam dunk” in the potty” (a parent of a toddler) Often times parents get in too much of a hurry to toilet train their child resulting in […]

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Homework Hassles (part 2)

    There are 2 kinds of homework resistors and each requires a different response: the work is too hard for the child the child views the work as irrelevant, not important or boring 1) If the work is too hard, the child has been placed in an impossible position and his homework resistance will continue and probably escalate. The teacher needs to ensure the work is not beyond the child’s ability and the parent […]

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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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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)