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

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.

Don't wait for him to turn 10 before you reveal that you are not in fact the hired help whose job it is to clean up after him.

Children today are under enormous pressures rarely experienced by their parents or grandparents. Many of today's children are being enticed to grow up too quickly and are encountering challenges for which they are totally unprepared.

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

"To be a man, a boy must see a man."  (J.R. Moehringer)

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

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

Learn more.

“Alternative” Approaches

The preceding 5 approaches could be described as the “conventional” approaches to changing behaviour. There are of course other directions one could look, but they would be categorized more as “alternative” approaches. I do not mean to belittle them in any way, it is just that they are more “outside the box” and they generally do not have the degree of independent and peer reviewed research to provide evidence of their effectiveness.

Examples of these “alternative” approaches include:

  • chiropractic skeletal adjustments
  • magnet therapy
  • nutritional supplements
  • colour therapy
  • “healing” circles
  • hypnosis
  • meditation
  • and many other

There are unquestionably many honest and sincere anecdotal reports claiming the merits of these approaches, but they represent initiatives beyond the scope of my postings.

Next posting – What is the Best Option?

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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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NOL 2BO

Phone: (519) 485-4678
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“Rick’s approach is so logical. He helped us clearly define the problem, analyze what has happened and select the best strategy. We now feel empowered to do something positive for our kid”

(A.N. – Tillsonburg)