: : : : Homer and Rupert : : The Morris Brothers : : : :

One of the Morris Brothers is actually a counselor and former teacher!

We are proud to announce of all the top entertainers performing school assemblies in the Southwest, The Morris Brothers are the only ones to have an actual licensed teacher and counselor writing and performing in the show. James Caldwell, M.Ed., LPC, better known as Homer Morris, has been a counselor for the past five years for the Richardson Independent School District in Richardson Texas. Along with performing school assemblies, James currently works as a Counselor at Hope Works counseling agency in Plano, Texas (www.hopeworkscounseling.org) where he works with children (9 and up), adolescents, and adults. His specialties include anger/stress management, bullying, authority issues, classroom behavior problems, and parenting. In addition, he has been a featured speaker at the Texas State PTA Leadership Convention where he presented workshops on "Dealing with Angry and Defiant Adolescents & Children", "Creative Ways to Keep Kids Drug Free", "Classroom Discipline", and many more. He is available for workshops for schools as well.

Each month on this page we'll have a few "Tips" from Homer relating to typical problems your children might experience in school and questions often asked by parents about how to deal with their children. If you have a question you would like to ask Homer, just e-mail us. We'll try to have it up ASAP. Obviously, if this is an emergency requiring immediate attention, don't hesitate to call 911, your family physician, or check your yellow pages for local counseling agencies.

ASK HOMER
PARENTS QUESTION: "I have a 14 year old son who argues with me about everything. Whether it's getting up in the morning, or getting him off the phone. I don't know what to do".

Homer: Unfortunately, this is a very common problem. In dealing with any problem with your child, it often helps to remember what you were like at that age. Empathy works wonders! It doesn't excuse their behavior, but it helps us know where they're coming from. Children often pull us into "power struggles" because it works for them. It gives them a sense of control and power. The key is to not get pulled into one! Easy to say, but hard to do. The problem is, once we develop a pattern of getting into power struggles, it's hard to get out. We, as our kids, often continue behaviors even when they don't work for us. Here's a few tips on dealing with "Power Struggles".

Dealing with Power Struggles
Prevention

Parents form a "united front"

Model the behavior you expect from your children

Be clear, consistent, and fair with what you want

Say what you mean and mean what you say

Give your child chocies, but make sure you can live with them

Build a strong relationship

Intervention

Control your own anger

Focus on what you want, not what you don't want

Ask "what happened" to cause misbehavior; don't tell

Impose logical consequences for misbehavior

Discipline in private when possible

Ignore the "last hook" (ie. Child says "Whatever")

Fact to Remember

You will get anger with your teen

You shouldn't take his/her behavior personally

We always have a choice in how we behave

All behavior has a purpose

Good book on this topic: "The 7 Worst Things Parents Do"

NATIONAL HOTLINES:
Suicide and Crisis Center - 214.828.1000
National Child Abuse Hotline - 800.4A.CHILD
Runaway Hotline - 800.392.3352