welcome image

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

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

Early intervention is always better than crisis management - but it is never too late to do the right thing.

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

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

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

If there is no relationship - nothing else matters !

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.

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)

Learn more.

Suicide

THE NIGHTMARE of SUICIDE
Journal entry
“ I’m surprised I haven’t done it yet because I feel really terrible all the time. I just don’t have any courage but anyone else in my position would have already committed suicide.”       Rachel  age 15
                  – the peak age for suicide attempts is 16
                  – 19% of teens seriously consider suicide
                  – 6% actually attempt it
                  – only car accidents claim more teen lives than suicide
                  – in 90% of suicides there is an underlying psychiatric disorder
                                    – depression is most common
                                    – 50% of male suicides victims have depression
                                    – 70% of female suicides victims have depression
– there has been a 3 fold increase in teen suicides since 1960’s
– girls more likely to attempt suicide (2X)
– boys more likely to succeed (10X)
 
 
                  Why?      – increased drug / alcohol use
                                                      – breakdown in family
                                                      – more “pressured” world
                                                      – availability of guns
 
 
 – suicide is “contagious”
                  – other suicides result in clusters
                  – dramatizations of suicide (TV, movies, etc) are frequently followed by increased rate of suicide
                  – familial (combination of genetics & environment)
 
Suicide results from a convergence of factors
                  1. underlying psychiatric disorder
                  2. predisposition to suicidal thought
                  3. traumatic event
                                    – most common – relationship problems
                                                                        – school problems
                                                                        – trouble with law
                                                                        – bullying
                                                                        – pregnancy

Back to Top

Workshops

+ Behaviour Management (now available online)

This full day or 2 evening workshop will introduce you […]

Learn more

+ Lick Your Kids

  “Lick Your Kids” (figuratively not literally) (2 hours) First […]

Learn more

+ A Parent’s Guide to the Teenage Brain

  A teenager’s brain is not just an adult brain […]

Learn more

+ Reading Rescue

A program for children with reading problems

Learn more

+ Taming a Toddler

Many parents wonder what hit them when their sweet little baby turns into an unreasonable toddler – ideas for dealing with mealtime, bedtime, temper tanturms, toilet training, noncompliance, etc.

Learn more

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

Archive


Parents' Comments

“You have changed our life! Thanks, it needed changing!”

(T.N. – London)