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The quickest way to change your child’s behaviour is to first change your own.

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

"The thing that impresses me most about North America is the way parents obey their children"    (King Edward VII , 1841-1910)

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

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

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.

If you are headed in the wrong direction as a parent - you are allowed to make a U-turn.

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

There has been an explosion in the prescribing of medication for very young children, particularly preschool and kindergarten boys (Juli Zito , Univ. of Maryland)

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Helping Kids Through Traumatic Events

HELPING A SUSCEPTIBLE KID THROUGH A HORRIBLE EVENT Example – September 11                   – limit TV – constant bombarding of images  reinforces anxiety                   – message should be clear:                                                                         – this is horrible                                                                         – it’s frightening                                                                         – but we are not helpless or hopeless                                                                         – there are things being done                                                                         – the situation will improve                                                                         – the government is taking steps                                                                         – we can help       […]

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Types of Depression

TYPES OF DEPRESSION DIAGNOSED IN YOUNG PEOPLE (the Oxford Psychiatric Dictionary lists 25 different types of depression)   a) MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER (MDD)                   – serious depression lasts an average of 7-9  months                   – similar to adult depression in some ways                                                                         – sadness                                                                         – pessimism                                                                         – sleep & appetite disturbance                                                                         – decrease in concentration                   – dissimilar in some ways                                                                         – anxiety                                                                         – irritability                                                                         – overly […]

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Child & Youth Worker – Fanshawe College

Congratulations are extended to the Fanshawe College students who are just completing their academic semester in the Child & Youth Worker program at the Woodstock campus. It is a 3 year diploma program that equips students to work in classrooms, group homes, treatment centres, detention facilities, etc. The program involves 3 academic semesters plus 3 field placement semesters. I have been privileged to teach a psychology course to the first year students who will be […]

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Workshop – “It’s a Guy Thing, It’s a Girl Thing”

I will be presenting a workshop entitled “It’s a Guy Thing, It’s a Girl Thing” at the Woodstock campus of Fanshawe College on May 16 from 6:30 to 9:30 PM. Enclosed is a description: “Be prepared for an “aha” experience. Are boys different from girls? Do they think, play, learn, hear, talk differently? Finally modern science can now explain the many gender differences that influence every aspect of our lives. Understanding these differences will help […]

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Recent Training Events

I recently had the opportunity to present 2 different workshops for foster and adoptive parents through the London and Middlesex Children’s Aid Society. 20 people attended “Fostering – Take This Job and Love It” on February 29 and 27 people attended “The Difficult Child” on March 21. Feedback from both events was very positive with comments such as: – “excellent handouts that will prove helpful tomorrow and into the future” – “wonderful speaker, fast paced, […]

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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

“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)