A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Calls for tighter underage drinking laws have been made by drug body The Australian Drug Foundation, who believe the current laws allowing underage drinking on private property without parental consent are too lax. The foundation proposed that adults should only be allowed to provide alcohol to minors with their parent’s consent, the adults should only [...]
Over the years I have attended a number of Schoolies Week celebrations and although there have always been incidents, usually linked to excessive alcohol consumption, for the most part I have found the young people to be very well behaved and reasonably sensible. The most concerning aspect of the event is the social pressure on [...]
Generation Next is coming to Perth! Featuring speakers such as Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, Julie Gale, Paul Dillon and Susan McLean, the seminar will provide solutions to the challenges facing generations Y and Z. The seminar will cover a range of topics including cybersafety (including cyberbullying and sexting), the sexualisation of our children in the media, [...]
A survey of almost 3000 students has found 60% of girls in year 12 admit to binge drinking three or more times in the last fortnight, and half say they have had sex. Most alarmingly, 38% of the girls surveyed said they had endured unwanted sex. The most common reason for unwanted sex for women [...]
Here are the top ten “outs” that I have collected from teenagers over the years. Not all of them are great, but they cover a range of different ways of saying ‘no’, including excuses (often using information they have picked up in drug education lessons at school) and delaying or putting off the situation. ‘I’m [...]
We should never underestimate the impact that peer pressure can have on our children, particularly when it comes to alcohol, but far more important at this time is ‘social pressure’ or influence. This is something that we rarely talk about, but it is far more likely to affect teenagers’ behaviour as it is much more [...]
Malcolm had been using ecstasy for over eight years when I spoke to him. He had first used the drug when he was twenty years old after associating with a group of clubbers for almost twelve months. He had observed his group of friends using ecstasy and had decided to try it. When he asked [...]
Be a parent when it comes to parties, particularly for the first couple of years. Take an interest in where your kids are going and who they will be with, and do a little bit of parenting when it comes to finding out what type of party it will be and whether there will be [...]
You can now subscribe to the Generation Next e-newsletter! The newsletter will feature articles from our speakers, including Dr Michael Carr-Gregg talking about depression and Susan McLean talking about cybersafety, and will also provide you with updates and alerts regarding the Generation Next seminar series. The featured articles will discuss the unique challenges facing generations [...]
If you are finding it difficult to raise the issue of mental health and cannabis, try talking about paranoia. Almost every child, regardless of whether they have had contact with cannabis or not, is aware that this is a side effect of using the drug. Although it may seem quite harmless, paranoia can actually be [...]
