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

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

Many clinicians find it easier to tell parents their child has a brain-based disorder than suggest parenting changes. Jennifer Harris (psychiatrist)

Criticism is not a motivator.

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

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)

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

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

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

The mistake that Sharon and I both made is we never set any boundaries.  (Ozzy Osbourne)

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Depression – the stress “triggers”

 
THE STRESS “TRIGGERS”
 
“Bad” things happen to kids
                  – 1/2 of Canadian families go through divorce
                  – 1/4 of Canadian women report having been sexually abused
                  – parents, siblings, friends die
 
The overwhelmingly majority of children are remarkably resilient and emerge from the “bad” things relatively unscathed.
 
Those predisposed to anxiety and depression sometimes develop major depression after a stressful event.
 
 
 
Studies with animals corroborate this (mice, rats, monkeys)
                  – maternal deprivation
                  – social isolation
                  – maltreatment
                  ( these stressors caused changes in the structure and function of their brains similar to those
                   seen in adult humans with depression)
 
CHANGES  TO THE ADOLESCENT’S BRAIN
                                PLUS
THE STRESS CAUSED BY THEIR DEVELOPMENT TASKS
                            COINCIDE
WITH INCREASED RATES OF  MAJOR PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS 

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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 were so naive. We thought our son’s poor behaviour was just a phase he was passing through. Thankfully you led us ‘out of the wilderness'”

(N.S. – London)