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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.

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

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.

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

Criticism is not a motivator.

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

"The thing that impresses me most about North America is the way parents obey their children"    (King Edward VII , 1841-1910)

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

Parenting style matters - a lot!

If you (parents) tend to overreact to your child's misbehaviour - your child learns that he can't trust you. Mom, Dad, stay regulated!

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Challenges Parents of Some Teens Face

 

 

My previous  2 blog entries highlighted positive research finding by Canadian sociologist Reginald Bibby. Unfortunately not all teens fit his description. Below is a list of concerns that parents share with me:

  • disrespectful attitude
  • self absorbed
  • lazy & careless about responsibilities
  • negative attitude toward life and school
  • emotionally withdrawn & distant
  • picks friends who you disapprove
  • angry outbursts for little reason
  • lacks motivation for school
  • neglects chores
  • moody
  • mean to siblings
  • detaches from family events
  • lies and is deceptive about activities
  • physically aggressive
  • skips school
  • substance abuse
  • arguments re: internet, cell phones, etc.
  • sexual activity

If parenting was going to be easy – it wouldn’t have started with something called “labour”

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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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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

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

(T.N. – London)