A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Like many parents with young children, I wondered how early and how often my young daughter should be on the computer. The advice experts’ offer was both surprising and reassuring. 1) It’s almost never too early. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no computer usage before age two, by age three many children are [...]
When it comes to drinking and taking drugs many young people face both social and peer pressures. Their friends might encourage them to drink at parties while social pressures come in many forms. Social pressures can include advertising, seeing the lifestyles of celebrities, or being at a party and seeing people who are drinking or [...]
For some time now experts have been warning about the dangers of social network sites and how some teenagers are being manipulated into situations they cannot handle by the people they are chatting to. Studies show that teenagers are often happy to provide their personal information to complete strangers. Many adolescents feel in control of [...]
An Australian study has found that girls are hitting puberty earlier. The study also found evidence to suggest that girls are just as aggressive as boys while in puberty. The study attributed the decrease in the age of onset of puberty to an increase in obesity in young women, which also resulted in the girls [...]
Almost half of under four-year-old Australian children suffer from untreated tooth decay while thousands of dollars are spent to treat the problem, the Australian Dental Association (ADA) has reported. ADA president Dr Neil Hewsen noted that while there was a steady decline in childhood dental problems over the last 20 years, the most recent figures [...]
A South Australian study has linked bullying to mental and psychosomatic health problems including headaches, anxiety and abdominal pain. The study of over 2,800 adults found that nearly 20% reported having experienced bullying at school, and those who reported being bullied reported poorer physical and mental health then those who had not been bullied. The [...]
You are sending a very strong message to your child when you agree to provide alcohol to minors. Most importantly, you are telling them to ignore the law - alcohol is an illegal drug for those under the age of eighteen. The laws are different across the country with New South Wales having the strictest [...]
Melinda Tankard Reist appeared in The Australian this weekend in an article criticising magazine Marie Claire’s use of a ‘real’ image of supermodel Jenifer Hawkins to launch their “love-yourself-just-as-you-are” campaign. SHOCK horror: nude supermodel has dimple on thigh. In a move labelled daring and revolutionary, this month's edition of Marie Claire features nude photos of [...]
An American study has linked insufficient sleep to depression in adolescents. The study of over 15,000 adolescents in years 7-12 looked at the relationship between set bedtimes and sleep duration and depression. The study found that teens who went to bed after midnight were 24% more likely to suffer from depression and 20% more likely [...]
Results of the annual American National Institute on Drug Abuse survey Monitoring the Future were released yesterday, revealing the patterns of drug use and perception in young people in America. The survey of over 46,000 year 8, 10 and 12 students found that the use of many drugs including alcohol, methamphetamines, cocaine, hallucinogens and cigarettes [...]
