A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Boredom helps creativity to grow. Photo: Getty I was born in Teesside, north-east England, the second of two daughters. I had a large extended family and we all lived close to one another and saw each other regularly. I enjoyed a traditional childhood in the Seventies and Eighties, watching too much television and [...]
My mother didn’t do one part of parenting that well: she treated me as if I were too important for ‘real’ life. I never had to do any housework and she never brought me down a peg or two, which I sorely needed. She gave me the impression that jobs are something that shouldn’t concern [...]
Being bullied during childhood may have even graver consequences for mental health in adulthood than being neglected or sexually abused, according to the first-ever study to tease out the effects of peer abuse from childhood maltreatment. - by Anne Harding Source: Bullying May Leave Worse Mental Scars Than Child Abuse I LiveScience
Children deprived of loving care have reduced white matter in crucial parts of the brain compared to those raised in a better environment. The observations are not surprising in light of the well-known behavioral effects of neglect, but what this study has done is identify and measure the areas of the brain most affected. The [...]
A child’s emotional health is far more important to their satisfaction levels as an adult than other factors, such as if they achieve academic success when young, or wealth when older. The authors explain that evaluating the quality of a child’s emotional health is based on analysing a range of internal factors in a person’s early [...]
New research discovers early childhood depression increases the risk that a child will be depressed throughout their formative school years. Washington University researchers discovered children who had depression as preschoolers were 2.5 times more likely to suffer from the condition in elementary and middle school than kids who were not depressed at very young ages. [...]
The very earliest childhood memories might begin even earlier than anyone realized – including the rememberer, his or her parents and memory researchers. Four- to 13-year-olds in upstate New York and Newfoundland, Canada, probed their memories when researchers asked: "You know, some kids can remember things that happened to them when they were very little. [...]
Most of us science nerds vividly remember episodes of bullying that took place throughout our childhood, but a new study has found that the popular kids are victimized by bullies too. In fact, the study, published in the American Sociological Review, found that becoming more popular actually raises the risk of getting bullied. “Most people [...]
I was bullied as a kid. That might be hard for you to imagine if you’ve met me in person. As a former representative footy player who stands around 191cm and over 110kg, I don’t come across as your typical ‘victim.’ But I used to dread going to school on a daily basis. Each day [...]
Frank Furedi, professor of sociology at the University of Kent, warned that "society has become increasingly drawn towards using medication as a substitute for authoritative teaching and child-rearing". He added that he believes that we are going through a "cultural redefinition of some of the normal problems of childhood." So when does being a naughty [...]
