welcome image

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

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

Whining and crying are employed by kids for the purpose of getting something. If it works, then it was worth the effort and will be repeated.

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.

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.

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

"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.

If there is no relationship - nothing else matters !

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

Learn more.

Brain Facts # 5

Lifelong Neuroplasticity   Historically, it was thought that the human brain was a fixed and essentially limited system that only degraded with age. This view saw the brain as a rigid machine in many ways, pretty much set after childhood. By contrast, we have now come to appreciate that the human brain is actually a highly dynamic and constantly reorganizing system, capable of being shaped and reshaped across the entire lifespan. It is believed that […]

Read complete blog post

Did You Know ? # 4

During pregnancy, environmental toxins can cause significant brain damage to a developing fetus if ingested by  mother. Abstaining from smoking and alcohol is a priceless gift to give your unborn baby.  

Read complete blog post

Brain Facts # 4

The Changing Brain   Our brains constantly change over our lifetime as we develop and age. As a consequence, the way various brain functions work also changes, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. The brain of a newborn is far from developed; it needs time to fully grow and establish connections on both large and small scales. Our brain’s functions improve drastically throughout childhood and adolescence, following a generally predictably progression. It is only […]

Read complete blog post

Did You Know ? # 3

One of the biggest threats to a developing fetus is maternal malnutrition, whether caused by famine, poverty or dieting. A particularly critical time is the  3rd trimester, when brain size is increasing rapidly.  

Read complete blog post

Did You Know ? # 2

A newborn’s brain uses 70% of the calories consumed for brain development and function. An adult’s brain uses only 18% of the calories to function. A breast fed infant attaches  to the breast faster if it bears natural odour than if it has been washed.

Read complete blog post




Back to Top

Workshops

+ Behaviour Management (now available online)

This full day or 2 evening workshop will introduce you […]

Learn more

+ A Parent’s Guide to the Teenage Brain

  A teenager’s brain is not just an adult brain […]

Learn more

+ Reading Rescue

A program for children with reading problems

Learn more

+ A Guided Tour of ADHD (now available online)

This workshop will present the facts, myths, misconceptions, controversy and […]

Learn more

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

Archive


Parents' Comments

“I wish we had found Rick 2 years ago. We could have saved ourselves and our son a lot of trouble.”

(T.T. – Byron)