A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
The results of the largest annual survey of young people in Australia were released yesterday by Mission Australia. The National Survey of Young Australians 2009 obtained the views of almost 48,000 young people across Australia and found that the young people rank drugs, suicide and body image as the most concerning issues they face. The [...]
In this guest post, Dr Jackie Curtis, a psychiatrist who actively works with young people with mental health problems at the Prince of Wales Hospital, and Dr Georgie Paulik, a clinical psychologist, explain how the onset of psychosis may be prevented or delayed in high-risk youths and describe some of the research which is currently [...]
Two images depicting women digitally edited to look unrealistically skinny have been making waves in the media recently. In the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney an advertisement for Ralph Lauren with an unrealistically skinny model is displayed. The model in the picture has had her waist significantly reduced to make her appear much smaller, as [...]
A report detailing a survey of 1,200 people aged 18-44 has found that almost seventy percent of the people surveyed still suffer from negative effects of bullying years down the track, including low self-esteem and a lack of assertiveness. The report Give Kids a Chance: No One Deserves to Be Left Out by Wesley Mission [...]
Issues like the sexualisation and abuse of children aren't humorous. They are serious. The Cotton On store declared in August that it would remove inappropriate slogan t-shirts after public pressure from around Australia and New Zealand - including comments from child development professionals, calling for the removal of the slogan t-shirts. Today in The Herald [...]
Prominent Australian author and speaker Melinda Tankard Reist recently published a collection of essays on the topics of the sexualisation of girls in Australia. This important book features articles from author Steve Biddulph, Playschool presenter Noni Hazlehurst and Generation Next speaker Julie Gale. We strongly recommend this book and invite you to leave your comments [...]
Here are the top ten “outs” that I have collected from teenagers over the years. Not all of them are great, but they cover a range of different ways of saying ‘no’, including excuses (often using information they have picked up in drug education lessons at school) and delaying or putting off the situation. ‘I’m [...]
Teenagers with parents open to talking about their drug and alcohol experiences are less likely to use drugs themselves, an American study has found. The survey found 63% of the teens aged 15-18 believed they would be more responsible with drugs and alcohol after hearing their parent’s stories. Over half of the teens said they [...]
A government report to be released next week will recommend children under the age of two not watch any television and children from two to five years of age be limited to one hour of television a day. "Based on recent research, it is recommended that children younger than two years of age should not [...]
Many of the symptoms of depression involve a deviation from normal behaviour, so it is important that you become the world expert on your child to watch for changes that may indicate the onset of depression. Symptoms of depression include: • frequent tiredness, • pervasive boredom (especially in younger children), • low mood, • sudden [...]
