Almost half of the poorer mental health we see in teenagers with a disability is due to bullying, our new research shows. If we could stop the high levels of bullying that adolescents with a disability experience, we could make a big difference to their health, learning and wellbeing. So school anti-bullying programs need to [...]
Most young people in the youth justice system have been found to come from “troubled” backgrounds. However, many people with similar backgrounds don’t ever end up in youth justice services. Knowing why people with troubled childhoods may be more likely to engage in criminal activity is necessary to inform the development of effective prevention and [...]
A Department of Education review of smartphone policies around the world has found that students manage to find "workarounds" when devices are banned at school - yet the NSW government has prohibited phones in primary schools. The Department's review of the evidence on phones in classrooms notes that schools across Australia and around the world [...]
The unexamined life is not worth living, said the Greek philosopher Socrates. He was reflecting on the expression “Know Thyself” – an aphorism inscribed on the temple of Apollo at Delphi and one of the ultimate achievements in ancient Greece. While we walk around the world more or less successful in our endeavours, many of [...]
The American Psychological Association has issued its first official warning against toxic masculinity. The new “Guidelines for the Psychological Practice with Boys and Men,” marks the first-ever report published by the association aimed at helping practitioners care for their male patients “despite social forces that can harm mental health.” Citing more than 40 years of [...]
When Celina Pereira watches videos of people slurping food and drinks, tapping their nails and whispering into a microphone, she breaks out into goosebumps and a chill travels down her spine. It might sound bizarre, but she's experiencing ASMR – an autonomous sensory meridian response – and she's not alone. There are now more than [...]
Developmental pediatricians are telling parents to reconsider the age-old practice of forcing children to hug or kiss members of the extended family when gathering at the holidays. They say doing so takes away the child's autonomy over their own body and sends a message that it's OK for others to demand affection. The Girl Scouts [...]
During a recent date night with my husband, my beloved babysitter let my 4-year-old daughter take a few (unpublished) pictures with a Snapchat filter that added blush and eyelashes while smoothing out her already blemish-free skin. My daughter was transfixed, and started referring to those pictures as “the pretty ones.” My jaw instantly dropped, as [...]
Children under 15 in out-of-home care in regional and remote NSW will receive specialised support through a new outreach program to manage their trauma. The new program, OurSPACE will focus on improving family relationships and strengthening the foster and kinship placements of young people in care, regardless of where they live in NSW and without [...]
Our lives can easily fill up with, well … life. When everything on our to-do lists feels both urgent and important, pleasure reading can seem a luxury. For many children and teens, as their lives get busier with new obligations and increasing distractions, the idea of curling up with a book can appear to be [...]
