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Parenting style matters - a lot!

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

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

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

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

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)

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.

Hurt people hurt people.

Good parenting requires sacrifice. Childhood lasts for only a few brief years , but it should be given priority while it is passing before your eyes

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

Learn more.

Upcoming Workshop (Teenage Brain)

I will be presenting a workshop open to the public on October 22, 6:30-9:30 at the Woodstock campus of Fanshawe College. The title of the workshop is “A Parent’s Guide to the Teenage Brain”

A teenager’s brain is not just an adult brain with fewer kilometres on it. It is a brain that is not fully developed. It is a work in progress and has stymied parents for centuries. Modern science is now explaining biological reason why:

– teens can seem so mature one minute and so maddening the next

– some struggle and some bloom

– they engage in risky behaviour (booze, drugs, sex, etc.)

– they can’t get out of bed before noon on the weekend

– he/she won’t talk to you anymore

– they slam doors

Science is tiptoeing on the edge of understanding the teenage brain and the science is changing fast. Understanding the teen brain can lead to smoother relationships between parents and their kids.

Contact Fanshawe College Woodstock by phone (519) 421-0144 or online (fanshawec.ca/oxford) to register. The cost is $41.50

 

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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

Learn more

+ 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)