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

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.

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

Relationships matter:  change comes through forming trusting relationships. People, not programs change people.

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

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

"Moody" and "unpredictable" are adjectives parents will often use when referring to their teenagers.

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

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.

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The Teenage Brain

 THE TEENAGE BRAIN
 
Adolescence is one of the times in an individual’s life when the greatest brain development is occurring.
 
– brain changes in size and shape
– gray matter thickens
– increase in synaptic connections between brain cells
– specialization within brain occurs
– “pruning” of pathways
– sex hormones impact on brain
 
Neurotransmitters are chemicals in the brain that facilitate the transmission of messages along nerve cells (billions of messages per second)
 
                  Primary neurotransmitters involved with depression             – serotonin
                                                                                                                                       – dopomine
                                                                                                                                        – norepinephrine
 
THE DISREGULATION OF NEUROTRANSMITTERS IS A PRIMARY CONTRIBUTOR TO DEPRESSION

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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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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

“Implementing Rick’s techniques and adhering to them is exhausting, but it is a healthy exhaustion rather than the detrimental exhaustion I used to experience.”

(B.F. – Woodstock)