A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
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 [...]
• 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 [...]
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 [...]
There are parents who will look at some questions and be concerned that by addressing them with their child they might be seen as condoning their use of alcohol or tactfully encouraging risky behaviour. Of course you don’t want to normalise risky behaviour, so how you present this sort of information is of paramount importance. [...]
Two disturbing reports have been released by charities in the last week describing alarming instances of under-age alcohol and cannabis consumption in Australia. The Salvation Army released research on Monday which shows 80 per cent of people believe it is safe to give children sips of alcohol. This, they emphasise, goes against new national guidelines [...]
The Trinity Grammar College in Kew, Victoria, has published a handbook to give information to parents about drugs and alcohol. The book, called the "Trinity Parent's Alcohol and Drug Resource Book," was put together by parents with the support of experts including Dr Michael Carr-Gregg with the intention of raising awareness of drug and alcohol [...]
Most parents know relatively little about alcohol and other drugs. They might have a bit of practical experience - usually in the form of vague memories from their teens or early twenties - but when it really comes down to it, most of the information they have has been obtained either through their friends of [...]
Malcolm had been using ecstasy for over eight years when I spoke to him. He had first used the drug when he was twenty years old after associating with a group of clubbers for almost twelve months. He had observed his group of friends using ecstasy and had decided to try it. When he asked [...]
