A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
I have a saying that my teaching colleagues will be able to appreciate. Interesting kids have very interesting parents. I spent the past two years resisting invitations from schools to give parent talks. My reasoning was that whilst after 15+ years teaching, I can speak with some authority with regards to working with school students, [...]
If social media only caused narcissism, it wouldn't be the worst thing. Instagram and Facebook are social networks that not only breed narcissistic tendencies but transform relations into a sexual rat race. On these ubiquitous portals, the popularity of girls is hotly contested over one big deal: how sexy can I appear and bring it [...]
According to NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics data, the number of juvenile female offenders soared by 36 per cent in the decade to June 2009, compared to an 8 per cent increase for juvenile males. There's anecdotal evidence, too. In September 2011, YouTube clips of pre-arranged brawls between girls as young as 14 in Sydney's [...]
Puberty announces itself to girls with growing breasts and their first period. This process, fuelled by significant hormonal changes, is hard on girls no matter how mentally mature they may appear. In 1901, the median age for girls going through puberty was approximately 14 years and there was little difference among ethnicities. But things have changed. As [...]
We hear it everywhere - girls are growing up too fast. When I mention this to audiences of parents, their heads nod like they are going to fall off. Taxidrivers know it. Teachers know it. Doctors in emergency rooms almost weep when they say it, after dealing with twelve-year-olds who have drunk so much they [...]
Girlfriend June 2013 “Why are you crying mum?” “Because I’m reading Girlfriend”. An unexpected response, perhaps, from an (allegedly) grown woman. But a story in the latest issue did me in. ‘Real Life Stories’ – which I have always appreciated for giving space to the raw realities of so many girls lives – opens with [...]
Girlfriend trifecta – three positive reviews and big ticks for global perspective in May issue My last two reviews (‘Excellent advice on helping a friend with an eating disorder and dealing with stalking’, ‘Pressures to sext and give oral sex’) have been almost entirely positive. That’s pretty unusual. The May issue makes this a trifecta. Whenever [...]
I recently heard of a girl who was given a boob job as a graduation present by her parents. The parents had just invested a fortune in educating their daughter in one of Australia’s top schools. But it seems the final message of her schooling was effectively to not worry her pretty little head about [...]
Excellent advice on helping a friend with an eating disorder and dealing with stalking When I speak in schools, I’m often asked for advice on how to help a friend with an eating disorder (and not just girls - a male student ask me in a school in regional NSW recently). So I was really [...]
I think Dolly may be improving (if only it would drop the model search!) Forty eight pages into Dolly’s April issue and I was beginning to wonder if there was anything worth commenting on. Yes there was a promotion of the Dolly model search, but I’d already gone to town on that in the last [...]
