A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Emily Joyce was at a yoga retreat when she realised her memory was not what it used to be. "I was with a group of friends and we were trying to remember the name of a restaurant," says Joyce. "None of us had our phones and it took us so long to remember it." For [...]
Mental illness associated with early childhood adversity may be passed from generation to generation, according to a study of adults whose parents evacuated Finland as children during World War II. The study was conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, Uppsala University in Sweden, and Helsinki University in Finland. It appears in JAMA Psychiatry. [...]
When kids pretend they're pirates or secret agents, or create their own characters using dolls or Lego figures, it seems like they're playing simple games - literally engaging in child's play. But what's going on when kids use their imaginations and pretend when they play is actually very complex, and very good for kids' development. [...]
What makes children want to learn? According to research, it's the joy of exploration—a hidden force that drives learning, critical thinking, and reasoning. We call this ability curiosity, and we recognize it in children when we see them exploring their environment, devouring books and information, asking questions, investigating concepts, manipulating data, searching for meaning, connecting with people and nature, [...]
For Melanie Fennell, a British clinical psychologist, self-esteem is a short-hand for the collection of beliefs you have about yourself and the type of person that you are. When our self-esteem is positive then we often believe that we are good enough to manage the challenges we come across at work, with friends or in [...]
I never realised just how damaging our obsession with smartphones and our switched-on lifestyle was, nor how addictive screen time was, until I put my teenagers on an extended digital detox. The results were swift and shocking, raising the question of just what is happening to the selfie generation and whether we have more to fear [...]
A new study has examined the development of mental health problems and resilience among at-risk youth. It may be considered as one of the most common "sleep aids" people employ to help them drift off at night, but according to a recent study, alcohol can actually be a roadblock to good sleep in teenagers. The [...]
Early years settings, like preschools and kindergarten, are often the first place social difficulties are identified. Pixabay Alison M Marchbank, Charles Darwin University The rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in selected sites in 2016 signified a shift in cultural views about disability. Historical views were based on a medical model derived from [...]
“Be a guide, not a guard” perfectly describes the kinds of parenting behaviors that create happy and responsible children. It’s a term I learned at a recent training session focused on reducing controlling parenting behaviors. When I ask parents “what have you tried to help change your child’s behavior?” little breaks my heart more than hearing a [...]
Raising a mentally strong kid doesn’t mean he won’t cry when he’s sad or that he won’t fail sometimes. Mental strength won’t make your child immune to hardship – but it also won’t cause him to suppress his emotions. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Mental strength is what helps kids bounce back from setbacks. It [...]
