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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.

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

"Unexpressed feeling never die. They are buried alive and come back later in ugly ways." (Stephen Covey)

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

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

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

If there is no relationship - nothing else matters !

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

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.

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Book launch – “The Promise” – a must read for foster/adoptive parents

I had the privilege of attending the launch of a new book that should be read by all adoptive and foster parents (actually all parents). Written by an adoptive mother (Christen Shepherd) and a support worker (Lisa Highfield), this book deals with the arrival of 4 needy children into the Shepherd home and chronicles their story from chaos to hope.

A paragraph written by Christen near the end of the book is worth sharing here and will hopefully encourage you to get a copy and read it: “There are no certainties in all of this (adoption) – but one. I can truly now say after crawling through the trenches of parenting four traumatized children, after being utterly broken open and broken down by the emotional and physical demands, after using every last bit of strength to keep moving forward, in holding fast to our relationships with our two biological sons, and in fighting not only to hold onto myself but also to get to know myself so much more deeply, I am glad we did this. I am glad we made the promise of a family to our children. It was the right thing to do. It was what we were meant to do.”

Adoption is not an easy road to pass down. Lucy Maud Montgomery’s literary classic about the bright, eager to please, imaginative Anne is not what adoption always looks like. Christen and Lisa share from their heart what it looked like to them – the good , the bad and the ugly. Truly an inspiring read.

 

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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

“I am no longer overwhelmed with a child who has unending discipline and behaviour problems.”

(P.S. – London)