A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
AS SCHOOLS struggle with the problem of bullying, the role that adults play is often overlooked. According to students who previewed a confronting new American documentary on the subject, threatening and violent behaviour gets worse when adults ignore it, condone it or just play it down as ''kids just being kids''. via Students troubled by [...]
A little over a week ago, a mother and primary school teacher posted a few lines on Target’s Facebook page lamenting the lack of age-appropriate, non-sexualised clothing for daughter, 8. She said they had lost her as a customer. Six days later the comment had attracted over 72,000 “likes” and drawn thousands of responses from others concerned [...]
The power of one. For anyone who ever doubted the power of one voice and social media they only need look at the effect Gretta Hawkhead from Port Macquarie has had by posting a comment on the Facebook page of department store Target. This ‘accidental activist’ was not expecting such a huge positive response [...]
Despite the fact that nearly a year has passed since the Australian and New Zealand Food and Health Ministers recommended that the alcohol industry be given two years to voluntarily implement alcohol warning labels, less than 16%* of alcoholic products carry a consumer information message. Of those that do, 98% take up less than 5% [...]
Violence on the streets seems to be on the increase. Displays of anger, unprovoked aggression and violence against strangers are reaching epidemic proportions. However, how young people handle their anger is learnt early in childhood. So how can we help children manger their anger? It should be pointed out that anger is a normal and [...]
In light of the recent newsletter reference to a court ruling on the appropriate management of children whose parents were undergoing a particularly nasty divorce, I think it's fair to say that there are a lot of parents who need guidance....a clearer understanding of what makes their kids tick, and what qualifies as "suitable parenting". [...]
For years there has been a line – albeit a semi-permanent, movable, sometimes defined, sometimes less so line – separating the role of teacher and parent. The term “in loco parentis” is used to define schools duty of care. Often schools will offer parent information nights, offering advice on how best to meet the needs [...]
Bras, braces, makeup are all rites of passage for many teen girls. But if you're a member of the Marshall family, so are boob jobs. Britney Marshall, a 14-year-old from Nottinghamshire, England, is the youngest girl of the Marshall family and the only one without breast implants. Her mother, Chantal Marshall, told the Sun, "Britney [...]
10% of children have problems coping with anxiety* Some children are very easy going and nothing seems to bother them. However many other children worry about all sorts of things, and when these normal everyday worries turn into anxiety it can be very difficult for a young person to participate in and experience school and [...]
A separation or divorce in the family is all too common now days with the divorce rate in Australia at almost 50%*. Many young people are placed in a situation where they need to learn new skills to cope with the changes. It can often bring out a mixture and extremes of emotions from sad [...]
