Alcohol and Drugs Affect Everyone
- The Australian Drug Foundation
How My Learning Difficulties Affected My Mental Health
dailymail.co.uk In the 63 years that I have been part of the learning difficulties world, I have both experienced and witnessed the suffering that is living with a learning difficulty. Learning difficulties are commonly considered a school-based issue; but struggling in school means struggling in life. This makes learning to be confident and acquiring a healthy mental attitude [...]
Scary Media: Does It Hurt?
Michael Phariss, michaelphariss.com There are many ways in which quite young children can be exposed to scary screen media. It’s quite common to see very young children at violent and scary M classified movies. It’s not unusual for commercial television stations to insert unexpected, frightening and violent trailers or program promotions into G or PG family TV programs. Middle primary-aged boys often [...]
Building Wellbeing in the Workplace
members.mps.ca What does it mean to be employed in a ‘healthy’ workplace? We know that the workplace is an important site for promoting mental health and wellbeing. It is also an environment that can build a culture of respect and collegial support which helps create security and positive regard. The wide range of research, seminars and publications available on leadership [...]
Gaming Addiction
Shin Minchul, 11 December 2013 Online gaming accounts for roughly 90% of addiction cases in South Korea according to Dr. Lee Jae-Won, a neuropsychiatrist at Gangnam Eulji Hospital in Seoul, and government data from South Korea indicates that 10% of young people aged 10-19 are addicted to [...]
Formal After-Parties – The Online Fallout
I’m regularly asked about my views and concerns of school formal after-parties, particularly those where every aspect of the after-party is outsourced to a private company. I want to share with you an emerging concern for some of these parties that is particularly of interest to schools, parents and teachers. In some cases, a private company contracts a photographer and videographer as part of the after-party package. The video footage and photos are then uploaded on the company’s social [...]
3 Ways to Help Hope Grow in Teens
Think of two teenagers you have regular contact with: one who is resilient and happy, and one who is struggling and languishing. Imagine you are interviewing each of them, and you ask them to respond to each of these six questionnaire items: 1. I think I am doing pretty well 2. I can think of [...]
Young People and the Medical Marijuana Debate
The debate about the use of marijuana for medical treatment has developed considerably over the past 12 months and has been highly publicised in the media. I recently presented one of our Party Safe Education seminars in a school where students had just completed a debate about the legalisation of marijuana. When presenting the information [...]
Teaching Kids How to be Sad
Helping the next generation live with feelings, not pathologise them. Young people in our society are increasingly worried and upset – not about any aspect of their life in particular - but about being worried and upset. This is a relatively new phenomenon. In the 1980s, surveys of teens showed they were worried about school, [...]
Helping Students Tackle Bullying: 6 Tips for The Classroom
Bullying remains a troubling issue in our schools. In 2013, one in three Australian children aged 10-11 reported being bullied (Lodge & Baxter, 2013). Children who are bullied at school are at a greater risk of experiencing serious psychological problems later in life (Ronning et al 2009, Rigby 2015). Children who engage in bullying behaviour are more likely to become involved in criminal activities as adults (Ttofi et al. 2012, Rigby, 2015). This far reaching impact is too great for [...]