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

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.

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)

Relationships matter:  change comes through forming trusting relationships. People, not programs change people.

"The thing that impresses me most about North America is the way parents obey their children"    (King Edward VII , 1841-1910)

The challenge of adolescence is to balance the right of the parents to feel they are in charge with the need of the adolescent to gain independence.

A tantruming toddler is a little ball of writhing muscle and incredible strength. It's like trying to carry a greased pig past a slop bucket.

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

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.

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

Learn more.

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 frustration on their part as well as their child.

Seldom is a child ready to begin toilet training before 18 months old and a significant percentage  are still not ready at thirty months. The neural pathways and the designated muscular groups must be sufficiently developed to exercise  the control necessary for toilet training.

Once these systems are sufficiently mature, the development is controlled by:

  1. the child’s will to comply
  2. his / her determination to defy
  3. the skill and cunning of the trainer

Many toilet training difficulties are really non-problems. Subsequent posts will outline a toilet training procedure that may be helpful.

What parents need most are ideas because with ideas we get options.Rick Harper has been providing ideas to parents for over 40 years.

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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

“He is a wealth of knowledge coupled with first hand experience.”

(E.K. – London)