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It's more effective to reward your child for being "good" (appropriate) than to punish him for being "bad" (inappropriate).

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.

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

If there is no relationship - nothing else matters !

Some hope their children will be like sponges soaking up the truth and wisdom imparted by their parents. However appealing this philosophy might be, it seldom seems to catch on with their children.

Criticism is not a motivator.

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

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

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

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

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“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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