A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Parents' estimations of their children's happiness differ significantly from the child's own assessment of their feelings, a study has shown. Research by psychologists at Plymouth University showed parents of 10 and 11-year-olds consistently overestimated their child's happiness, while those with 15 and 16-year-olds were inclined to underestimate. - University of Plymouth Source: Parents inclined to [...]
Think of two teenagers you have regular contact with: one who is resilient and happy, and one who is struggling and languishing. Imagine you are interviewing each of them, and you ask them to respond to each of these six questionnaire items: 1. I think I am doing pretty well 2. I can think of [...]
The contribution made by parents and grandparents to a child or teen’s success in school and in life is enormous. When teachers and families work together the results that kids achieve are amazing. Here are some of the main things we can all do to give children and teenagers a boost in school success. 1. Be [...]
Larissa Dann blog post May 2015Photo:Shutterstock Children and discipline - a perennial issue. Discipline (the verb) can mean either ‘to teach’, or ‘to control’ (Gordon, T. 1989). If we use discipline to control children, then we rely on reward and punishment to change a child’s behaviour. This article questions the use of one of the most commonly used discipline (punishment) techniques - time-out. Many schools, childcare centres and parents rely on time-out to discipline children. What is time-out? Time-out [...]
It's common for parents to wonder whether regular exposure to violent acts in the news can influence their children. That concern is why some parents shield their kids from continuous coverage of school shootings, and why advocacy groups issue regular reports about the damaging qualities of violence in the media. But research suggests parents should [...]
A growing number of children are using social media and mobile friendly websites to come forward with complaints of sexual abuse, the Royal Commission has been told. One of the country's largest sexual assault services told the commission's ongoing examination of child sex abuse on Wednesday that it was receiving a large number of reports [...]
Be careful what you say around your children. Photo: Janie Barrett Lately, I've noticed kids of a certain age turning into mouthpieces of their parents. It's a sudden and dramatic change and it appears, at least to my eyes, to take place sometime between their ninth and 12th birthdays. One year, they're unique [...]
Parents who shower their child with too much praise, making them feel superior to others, may be cultivating a narcissist, researchers suggest. Psychologists from the Netherlands studied more than 500 children for several years and found kids who had been "overvalued" by their parents were more likely to suffer from narcissism. While parents may think telling [...]
Children who are bullied are at greater risk of mental health problems in later life than those who are maltreated by adults, according to research. The authors of the study say it is time that bullying is taken more seriously. They found children who were bullied were five times more likely to experience anxiety and [...]
The struggle of parenting is real, but are mothers and fathers making the situation worse by failing to give themselves sufficient credit? The struggle of parenting is real, but are mothers and fathers making the situation worse by failing to give themselves sufficient credit? University of Queensland School of Psychology's Dr James Kirby has commenced [...]
