A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
A Canadian study has found that 15% of five-year-olds suffer from abnormally high levels of depression and anxiety. The study, which ran for 5 years and tested over 1,700 children, also found that children with a difficult temperament at the age of five months were more likely to go on to develop abnormally high levels [...]
Cyber-bullying expert Dr Barbara Spears from the University of South Australia has called for improved technology education and earlier targeting of mental health problems for children in Australian schools. Dr Spears emphasised the increasing problem of cyberbullying however highlighted that banning technology from schools will not solve the problem. She believes instead that children must [...]
Alcohol education group DrinkWise launched their latest campaign "Kids and Alcohol Don't Mix" yesterday, which aims to reduce under-age drinking with a focus on educating teens to wait for as long as possible before drinking. The campaign immediately came under fire for the influence alcohol companies have over it when professor Simon Chapman of Sydney [...]
A global study has found that almost half of young people know dangerously little about HIV and AIDS. The study found that over 80% of the respondents believed HIV and AIDS are the greatest challenge of our time, however over a third did not believe condoms would be effective at preventing the spread of HIV, [...]
Talk to your children about drugs as early and as often as possible. Make sure you speak to them about the range of drugs available, with an emphasis on those they are likely to come into contact with at their particular stage of development. For the very young, including primary school-aged children, most of the [...]
The Australian government has announced a $3 million pilot project aimed at assessing and reducing cyber-bullying in Australian schools. The Australia-wide project is intended to educate students about cyber-bullying, monitor the prevalence and impact of cyber-bullying, and assess the effectiveness of current cyber-safety education programs. The project is being trialled in at least 150 schools [...]
A 2006 US study found that 1 in 7 (13%) children had received a sexual solicitation or been approached online within the previous 12 months; 1 in 3 (34%) had unwanted exposure to pictures of naked people or people having sex; 1 in 11 (9%) were threatened or harassed; and 1 in 25 (4%) received [...]
A third of children aged 8 to 12 use the internet on a daily basis and this figure rises to half for teenagers, while at least 90% of Australian homes with children have an internet connection. The top three most popular online activities for children are instant messaging, surfing, and email, and many children are [...]
A survey by the ACMA showed that kids appeared to be aware of online risks, with 75 per cent saying they knew not to give out their address or phone number online and were aware of the potential for online impostors. However, despite this knowledge, the survey showed that some young people were still engaging [...]
Here's the Today Tonight story that aired nationally on June 2, shot around the Sydney event on May 23. Generation Next on Today Tonight
