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

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

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

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

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.

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

"Parents aren't the cause of ADHD, but they are part of the solution." (Kenny Handleman, M.D.)

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

You cannot reason with someone who is being unreasonable.

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

Learn more.

Tactics for Temper Tantrums (part 7)

 

 

Retreat

Sometimes there is nothing else but to retreat. Let the child know you will absolutely not be drawn in. This approach is justified when the stimulus to the tantrum is so absurd that it is not worth any effort  (such as the one that frequently occurs when someone fails to cut the sandwich in precisely the correct size pieces). No parent should be expected to wasted much imaginative effort on such minuscule  matters.

In this case the parent retreats to another room, bars the door and waits it out.

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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

“Our daughter was the joy of our life until she turned 13, then all hell broke loose. Rick helped us understand what was happening to her and we made some adjustments that helped us get through it. She’s now in University and doing well.”

(D.A. – St. Thomas)