A Listening Experiment
Andrea Ramsay Speers
Have you ever given much thought to how much talking you do? I try to be very aware of how much I talk — occupational hazard, I suppose — and I try to [...]
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Staying the Course
Andrea Ramsay Speers
It’s easy to second-guess ourselves as parents. Whatever the situation is — trying to get our little one to sleep through the night, saying no to a 16 year old who [...]
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“You’re Not The Boss of Me!”
Andrea Ramsay Speers
Power struggles are among the more frustrating parts of the parenting package. Why? Well, as Rudolph Dreikurs points out in his book Children: The Challenge, “Children [...]
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When Parents Clash
Andrea Ramsay Speers
What do you do when you and your partner have differences in parenting styles? It’s a surprisingly common dilemma. My experience is that, if we look at parenting as a [...]
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How To Keep Your Marriage Strong
Andrea Ramsay Speers
It’s not uncommon that I meet with couples who have come to counselling, but are a little unsure if they should even be there, since they don’t fight, they don’t storm out on [...]
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Plan To Have Fun This Summer!
Andrea Ramsay Speers
Summer is upon us, and it’s a great time for fun family activities. But unfortunately, many parents don’t spend enough quality time with their kids, doing fun [...]
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Parenting Book Recommendations
Andrea Ramsay Speers
A number of my clients have been asking for books that they can read that describe the same Democratic Parenting philosophy that I use in our sessions. I thought I might post [...]
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Out-of-Control Teens
Andrea Ramsay Speers
There is a general fear among parents in Oakville about “the teen years”. We hear all sorts of horror stories — ranging from the mild (won’t be seen [...]
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Throwing The Game
Andrea Ramsay Speers
Kids love games. They love playing games with friends, and they particularly love playing games with their parents. This can sometimes lead to challenges for Mom and Dad, [...]
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Happiness At Home: Resolving Conflicts
Andrea Ramsay Speers
Every relationship has conflicts. In some relationships, conflict is a serious problem; in others, differences seem to be resolved without creating a major incident. Think [...]
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