welcome image

Hurt people hurt people.

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.

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.

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

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

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

The best inheritance  parents can give their children is a few minutes of their time each day.

Removing a child from a traumatic environment does not remove the trauma from the child's memory.

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

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

Learn more.

Taming a Toddler

Most parents of newborns manage pretty well for the first year but as soon a the stubborn, self-centred, unreasonable toddler appears, many parents wonder what has hit them. Small children have an uncanny ability to unravel an adult nervous system. They are noisy and they make incredible messes and they bicker with one another and their noses drip and they scratch the furniture and they have more energy in their little fingers than mom has […]

Read complete blog post

Types of Temper Tantrums

There are 2 types of tantrums: manipulative (child is trying to get his own way – conscious, planned, controlled) temperamental (child can’t help it – he is truly “out of control”) Both types can look the same and one form can lead into another. A temperamental tantrum acquires a manipulative quality when the child comes to understand the value of what he’s is doing. Guidelines to Help Distinguish the Two Types the manipulative tantrum is […]

Read complete blog post

ADHD

    Some children can’t sit still. They appear distracted by every little thing and don’t seem to learn from their mistakes. These children disregard rules, even when they are punished repeatedly. They tend to act without thinking, and this results in many accidents and reprimands. ADHD is one of the most common reasons children are referred to mental health professionals. Every classroom in the country probably has several children with ADHD. Raising any child […]

Read complete blog post

Mom, Dad, think before you act!

    It is easier to stop difficult behaviour before it becomes entrenched. You should be very skeptical of the phrase “I’m just going to do this once” when it pops into your head in moments of parenting stress. Frankly, whatever you’re thinking of doing, you’re unlikely to do it only once. So unless you’re prepared to spend hundreds of hours in a car with your baby, don’t use a car ride to put your […]

Read complete blog post

Anger

I find this quote from Gary Chapman intriguing as it relates to temper tantrums and the importance of handling them in a wise fashion. “It may surprise you that the primary lifetime threat to your child is his or her own anger. If your child does not handle his own anger well, it will damage or destroy him. The mishandling of anger is related to every present and future problem your child may have – […]

Read complete blog post




Back to Top

Workshops

+ Behaviour Management (now available online)

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

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

+ A Guided Tour of ADHD (now available online)

This workshop will present the facts, myths, misconceptions, controversy and […]

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

“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)