A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Stock Photos Teens and their phones are almost inseparable. Most parents and teachers are troubled by this – and rightly so. Excessive or inappropriate device usage is shown to interfere with sleep, relationships, academic difficulties, and physical activity and health. These each influence wellbeing in important and positive ways, so when devices interfere, outcomes are sub-optimal. [...]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVuZfWsunZk via Sponge TV
Photos of emaciated women proudly displaying their protruding hips and ribs, as well as thinspirational quotes "fat-shaming" those who dare to eat, continue to thrive on social media, despite the best attempts by sites like Instagram to temper the reach of the pro-eating disorder community. Some girls gain thousands of followers posting pictures of "thigh gaps" [...]
Technology has become the new battlefield for parents, teachers, and teens. Regular conflicts arise over content (what the kids are doing on their devices) and context (when they’re doing it!). Content Issues Ever since the arrival of Facebook in 2004, youth (and adults) have used apps in naive and dangerous ways. Reputations have been harmed. [...]
Children deprived of loving care have reduced white matter in crucial parts of the brain compared to those raised in a better environment. The observations are not surprising in light of the well-known behavioral effects of neglect, but what this study has done is identify and measure the areas of the brain most affected. The [...]
Working with students in a Behaviour School. How staff do it, every day? Lomandra School, in Sydney’s south west, is a NSW Public Behaviour School supporting students Years 5-12 with severe challenging behaviours and/or mental health issues. It is the largest of its kind in NSW, with an enrolment of 70 students. It is, essentially, [...]
An Australian first La Trobe University study of gender diverse and transgender young people has revealed high rates of depression, suicidal thoughts and anxiety. The beyondblue funded report, From blues to rainbows: the mental health and well-being of gender diverse and transgender young people in Australia, found that half were diagnosed with depression and two thirds had experienced [...]
The last few weeks have seen me embark on a clutter clearing frenzy. As I work to eliminate the clutter from my home, filling our rubbish bins and donation boxes to their brim, I can’t help but consider the meaning our society attaches to material objects and how this impacts happiness. So, following another weekend of [...]
Last week I came across an interesting article on The Conversation. It was entitled, Wellbeing programmes in schools might be doing children more harm than good by Professor Kathryn Ecclestone from Sheffield University. It’s a counterintuitive statement isn’t it? How could wellbeing programmes do our students harm? Certainly in Australia we’re seeing an increase in [...]
