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

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

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

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

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.

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

Children mimic well. They catch what they see better than they follow what they hear.

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

The more 2 parents differ in their approaches to discipline, the more likely it leads to trouble for the child.

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

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Professional Development

I have attended 3 separate day long conferences in the last few weeks that all basically had the same prescription for troubled and troubling youth.

Annette Kussin (MSW) was speaking in London on “Attachment in Adolescence”. Stanley Kutcher (MD) was at CPRI in London and his topic was “The Developing Adoscent Brain” and Stuart Shanker (Ph.D) presented “Bringing Self Regulation into the Classroom” in Mississauga.

All three of these individuals emphasized that caregivers must develop and understanding of how a child’s brain develops and works because the functioning of the brain is the root of all behaviour. Neuroscientists tell us that most brain growth occurs after birth and circumstances in the early years set the foundation for brain development. Stress is a major contributor to disrupted brain development and today’s youth are the most stressed in all of history. Social scientists tell us that 70% of all children in the western world are over stressed.

There is truth in the statement “We are what our brain is”. The primary goal of Behavioural Management Systems is to help parents relieve stress in their homes.

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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 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)