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

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

There has been an explosion in the prescribing of medication for very young children, particularly preschool and kindergarten boys (Juli Zito , Univ. of Maryland)

Being a parent of a teenager can cure a person of narcissism.

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

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

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)

Setting limits teaches your children valuable skills they will use the rest of their lives. One day, they will report to a job where their ability to follow rules will dictate their success.

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

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

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Tactics for Tantrums (part 1)

My next several posts will offer ideas about handling toddler’s tantrums. They are based on the premise that some tantrum throwing will and should occur and that our job as parents is to make it as painless as possible for all participants. 1. The Ignore Tactic To use the ignore tactic the parent totally ignores the child’s dramatic performance. Look busy. Bustle around the house, sweeping, dusting or stacking magazines. Do not, however, try to […]

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What Does a Parent of a Child With ADHD Look Like ?

Sometimes like this:   frustrated stressed out frightened angry exhausted discouraged burned out Parents often feel blame, guilt and shame. They frequently believe that they have somehow “messed up” their child

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FASD – Late Adolescence (17 – 22)

The main goals : move out of home establish his own life learn to cope with societal rules – increase personal expectation with diminishing parental support (lots of teens without FASD have trouble with this) Trouble Areas: undereducated poor money management loneliness lack of boundaries poor judgement He may lack the emotional and / or the educational maturity to embark on an independent life but he still has the internal and societal programming that makes […]

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FASD- Early Adolescence – guidelines for teachers

the FASD adolescent still requires consistency, strong academic supports, and patience hormones are present but without the boundaries & social skills the teen may appear to be functioning higher than he really is sequencing problems may still persist teen will require immediate feedback other emotional problems may coexist – depression – eating disorder – suicide ideation – emotional alienation outrageous behaviours may continue (eg. temper tantrums) school suspensions

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FASD – Late Childhood (aged 8 – 12)

The main developmental task for children of this age is to develop a sense of industry. Family stresses are likely to increase as FASD children can be exhausting. Caregivers will benefit from counselling and respite care may become necessary. Peer and sibling relationships can become more difficult because the child may have legitimate  difficulty with following the rules, turn taking, cheating, stealing, breaking things and being unpredictable. Children with FASD do not understand the feelings […]

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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

“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)