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

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

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

Children do not develop on their own - they only develop within relationships.

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

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.

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.

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

You cannot reason with someone who is being unreasonable.

"Cutting" is a visible sign to the world that you are hurting.

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Teen Issues 2

The good old days when you were a teen aren’t as different today as you think.

For example, between 1978 and 2008

  • the average age for drinking alcohol for the first time went from 16.3 years of age  to 16.2
  • the age for smoking the first cigarette went from 15.2 years to 16.1
  • the age for smoking marijuana for the first time went from 18.4 years to 17.2
  • in 1991, 54 percent of high school students had had sexual intercourse
  • in 2005 the percentage was 46%

Today’s parents can rest assured that many of the issues they faced in adolescence are similar to the challenges their teens face today.

(U.S. data from Centre for  Disease Control)

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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

“I am no longer overwhelmed with a child who has unending discipline and behaviour problems.”

(P.S. – London)