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A tantruming toddler is a little ball of writhing muscle and incredible strength. It's like trying to carry a greased pig past a slop bucket.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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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 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)