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If you are headed in the wrong direction as a parent - you are allowed to make a U-turn.

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

Criticism is not a motivator.

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.

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.

"Parents aren't the cause of ADHD, but they are part of the solution." (Kenny Handleman, M.D.)

The more 2 parents differ in their approaches to discipline, the more likely it leads to trouble for the child.

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.

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

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Depression & Discipline

CONFLICT AND DISCIPLINE
 
– conflict in a home with a teenager is inevitable
– challenge for parents is to balance firmness with support and encouragement
-parenting a depressed teen is particularly challenging
                  – “walking on eggshells”
                  – scared of pushing too far
 
TIPS
1. “Pause” button
                                    – don’t get sucked into full-scale war
                                    – exit & wait
                                    – brain dead phrases
                                    – reflectors
2. active listening
3. communicate respectfully & calmly
4. negotiate
5. give choices
6. recharge your own batteries
                                    – proper eating, sleeping
                                    – pursue a hobby
                                    – get help – clergy, support group
 
ALL FAMILIES HAVE PROBLEMS
                  – the difference between healthy & unhealthy families is how they deal with them.
                  – healthy families:                -acknowledge the problem
                                                                        -take positive steps to resolve them

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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

“We are foster parents who took in a 13 year old girl (going on 18!) and she ran us through the wringer. Rick helped us learn how to set limits that made the difference.”

(G.E. – Strathroy)