A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Kidsmatter, a national initiative aimed at improving the mental health and wellbeing of children in Australian primary schools, has been praised by an independent evaluation released on Tuesday. Kidsmatter is a joint project formed by a number of groups and institutions including the Australian Psychological Society (APS), the Australian Government and national depression initiative Beyondblue [...]
I’m a firm believe that you should start talking about drugs the minute you start giving them to your child. We live in a world where pharmaceutical companies have been able to convince us that for every problem we have, there is a drug that can fix it. If you are depressed, you take a [...]
New trends for girls as young as seven to make themselves fashionable and attract the attention of young boys is causing an unprecedented rise in childhood depression and anxiety levels, psychologists have warned. Dr Joe Tucci of the Australian Childhood Foundation says the exposure of children to adult concepts is damaging the children. "Kids as [...]
It’s up to us to ensure that our kids get a balance in the stories they’re told. What’s also imperative is that among the stories told to our kids by others (through popular culture) and those that they ‘cobble together’, we include one about ourselves. Kids love to learn their family history through tales of [...]
Two recent US studies have found teenagers who own their own car are much more likely to crash then those who share a car with parents or siblings. The studies were carried out by researchers at the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia and explored the factors which affect the safety of teenage drivers. The researchers believe [...]
• Drink spiking does occur. • If your drink is salty, chemical-tasting, or gritty, stop drinking. • Spiking is just as likely to occur in a home or party as it is in a nightclub or bar. • It is more likely to be carried out by someone you know, or have recently stuck up [...]
A Western Australian Government campaign will aim to stem rising levels of teen drinking following a survey of teenage drug and alcohol use. The Australian Students Alcohol and Drug Survey covered over 2,500 students aged 12-17. The survey found that 40 per cent of the students had consumed alcohol in the past month, and 27 [...]
Psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg has blamed sexualisation for the 'sexual assault' of two six-year-old girls by their classmates. In one case in the Queensland school, a group of first-grade students reportedly removed a girl's underwear in the school toilets. The girls involved have since been removed from the school. Dr Carr-Gregg, child psychologist and Generation [...]
We should never underestimate the impact that peer pressure can have on our children, particularly when it comes to alcohol, but far more important at this time is ‘social pressure’ or influence. This is something that we rarely talk about, but it is far more likely to affect teenagers’ behaviour as it is much more [...]
A study published last week in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research added additional weight to the Australian Government's recommendation for parents to avoid giving alcohol to children under 15 years of age. The study looked at over 6,000 Australian twins and found that the earlier the children had their first drink, the more likely they [...]
