A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
The Australian Childhood Foundation is presenting a series of seminars on Polyvagal theory, oxytocin and the neurobiology of love and attachment: Using the body’s social engagement system to promote recovery from experiences of threat, stress and trauma. WHEN AND WHERE SYDNEY: Sydney Convention Centre, Darling Harbour. 18 & 19 October 2011 BRISBANE: Mercure Hotel Brisbane. [...]
A recent study, The Immediate Impact of Different Types of Television on Young Children's Executive Function, took 60 four year old children and randomly assigned them to watch either the fast paced and hectic cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants or the slower-paced PBS cartoon Caillou or to draw pictures. Experts have long felt that exposing children to [...]
In today's society school age children are at risk from excessive screen time. Here are some interesting but alarming facts gathered by an American organisation; Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood. Research shows the negative impact of time spend by young people in front of the "box". Including multitasking, children ages 8 to18 years old spend [...]
In a survey of youth aged 8-18, nearly 1 in 4 said they felt “addicted” to video games.* In The USA the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood (CCFC) recently organised Screen-Free week. It was designed to get young people away from the influences of commercialism and back to enjoying life ‘brand’ free. Here are some tips [...]
In a move that indicates cyber bullying is finally being taken seriously and considered as a real crime, two girls in America have been formally charged with cyberstalking and first-degree computer trespassing. The girls aged 11 and 12 allegedly hacked into the Facebook account of another friend and then posted sexually explicit material on it. [...]
Mixing alcohol and energy drinks increases erratic behaviour by 50%. A recent study, Effects of Energy Drinks Mixed with Alcohol on Behavioral Control: Risks for College Students Consuming Trendy Cocktails, published online in the Journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, suggests that the habit of drinking alcohol and energy drinks at the same time (a [...]
A Facebook site created in Canada is calling for the banning of sex offenders on social networking sites and it has now reached 5 million members worldwide. On the site's discussion posts, several people talk of the horror of logging in and seeing a "friend suggestion" - generated by Facebook - of their abuser. The [...]
A recent study considered the longitudinal effects of exposing children to violence and aggressive behaviour. It found that the more violence children are exposed to at a young age, the more they consider it to be normal behaviour and what’s more they are more likely to engage in aggressive behaviour towards others. The study said [...]
84% of Pro-ana sites feature thinspiration: images or video montages of slim women, often celebrities, who may be anything from naturally slim to emaciated with visibly-protruding bones.* People, especially young people, who suffer from any sort of eating disorder, are extremely vulnerable. They are not only physically weakened by malnutrition but they are also mentally [...]
To young people in Australia, the online world is a place where the virtual and the real collide. For many teenagers, the internet and mobile phone are their social lifeline. Online technologies are so important to them that teens’ online and offline friendships may be lost if they are not able to text or post [...]
