A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Chris Speldewinde, The University of Melbourne In Australia we have a long history of taking children outdoors to learn about the natural environment. But thanks to computer games, tablets and busy lifestyles, children aren’t getting as much exposure to nature as they used to. “Bush kinders” are one way to counter this. In a bush [...]
Michelle O'Shea, Western Sydney University; Hazel Maxwell, Western Sydney University, and Kylie A Steel, Western Sydney University In the lead up to the first FIFA Women’s World Cup hosted in the Southern Hemisphere, host nations Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand are forging other firsts, including efforts to break the shame, stigma and taboo that continue [...]
Lisa Olive, Deakin University Nothing clears the mind like going for a surf. With the escapism and simplicity of riding waves, it’s no secret that surfing feels good. Now our preliminary study in children and adolescents adds to growing evidence that surfing really is good for your mental health. But you don’t have to [...]
Sanné Mestrom, University of Sydney One of the things kids love most about the beach is the chance to play with sand. Sand is an excellent material to play with. It is versatile, widely available, open-ended and cheap. Not only is it nature-based, but it involves manipulation, exploration, and construction with materials to create [...]
Sanné Mestrom, University of Sydney Imagine this: a heap of colourful plastic buckets stacked on top of each other to form a climbable bridge, monolithic bluestone boulders holding up a contorted slide, a pile of concrete demolition debris moonlighting as a resting spot. At every point, children can be seen swinging their bodies from warped, [...]
Anne-Marie Morrissey, Deakin University and Deborah Moore, Monash University Choosing a childcare centre for your child can be a challenging process. To start with, choices may be limited if there are not many childcare centres in the area where you live or work. Or if the waiting lists are full. We know there are “childcare [...]
By Jora Broerse, Victoria University; Cameron Van der Smee, Federation University Australia, and Jaimie-Lee Maple, Victoria University International evidence suggests children have poorer movement skills as a result of COVID-related lockdowns that reduced physical activity at school, socially and in the community. In parts of Australia, learning from home replaced face-to-face classroom teaching for months [...]
By Associate Professor Kim Dalziel, Dr Li Huang , Dr Natalie Carvalho and Xiuqin Xiong One thing that most families learn at some point – particularly during lockdown – is that balancing a child’s screen time with physical activity isn’t an easy task. Although research and parental guides tell us that time on screens, sleep [...]
This article was co-authored with Rebecca Patrick, a climate-health researcher. As leading scientists call on the world to avert an impending climate catastrophe, Prime Minister Scott Morrison responded with this: “There is not a direct correlation between the action that Australia takes and the temperature in Australia.” Effectively, Scott Morrison is reasserting his already refuted [...]
Dr Hossein Mokhtarzadeh, Dr Jason Forte and Professor Peter Lee Do you like to pace while you think? You are not alone if you do. Aristotle, Dickens, Beethoven and many other great thinkers often walked when they were deep in thought. Two hundred years or so later, research from Stanford University suggests that going for [...]
