A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Schoolboys wanting a hit of the latest bulk-building product or pill need not travel far. At The Scots College, in Sydney's east, protein powders are supplied by teachers to adolescent athletes in the school gym. A sponsor of the school's rugby sevens tournament is Ultimate Sports Nutrition, whose products include ''hardcore'' anabolics, meal replacements and [...]
New research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) reveals why some children are badly affected by negative family conflicts while other children survive without significant problems. via How family conflict affects children.
This report from ARC Centre of Excellence in Creative Industries and Innovation at the University of New South Wales, Australia presents the endings of a qualitative study of young people’s understandings of, and responses to, current Australian laws, media and educational resources that address sexting. via Australian Clearinghouse for Youth Studies.
Boys will be boys, they tell us, but how many of us actually take this adage to heart and embrace it? I am the mother of four boys, now all adults. If I think back to their childhoods and adolescence, it’s a whirlwind of movement and physicality, adventure and injury, rough and tumble play, of [...]
In a paper published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the researchers found children who are both victims and bullies ('bully-victims'), are at highly increased risk of considering suicide, or have planned and engaged in suicidal or self-harming behaviour by 11-12 years of age. These [...]
Close to half of U.S high school students text while driving, a habit that dramatically increases their risk of getting into a potentially fatal car crash, a new study shows. Teens who reported texting while driving were more likely to engage in other risky driving behaviors such as driving under the influence of alcohol or [...]
I’ve written before about the importance of teacher wellbeing. Yes I know this is the Generation Next not the Generation Was Blog, but I think it is essential to appreciate that if we want our kids to flourish, then it is essential that the adults in their lives are doing likewise. A great deal [...]
Children who read on an iPad or Kindle are falling behind in the classroom as figures showed for the first time the majority of youngsters now prefer ebooks to printed versions. The advance of technology means that young people who read on a screen have weaker literacy skills and fewer children now enjoy reading, experts [...]
As we muddle through our days, the quest for happiness looms large. In the U.S., citizens are granted three inalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In the kingdom of Bhutan, there’s a national index to measure happiness. But what if searching for happiness actually prevents us from finding it? There’s reason to [...]
According to Saturday’s Sydney Morning Herald, “Stuffed toys that help children deal with ‘difficult emotions’ are being spruiked as a means to 'assist with the stress of NAPLAN.’” As an aside, it does seem ironic that the PR firm pushing these toys is called Evil Twin. Now, I understand that Year 12 students [...]
