Mental Health & Wellbeing

10 minute activist: Read Aloud Day 6 March 2013

Worldwide 793 million people still cannot read In countries such as Kenya, Nepal and America children are getting together and discovering the world of the written word. For many of them it is opening new doors, not only to the joy of reading but it is also building within themselves a sense of self worth, [...]

Tips on how to build bonds with boys

Steve Biddulph, author of Raising Boys and Generation Next speaker talks about the importance of giving boys different bonding experiences as they grow. He says that boys experience 3 main developmental stages as they go through life:   0-6 years old: bonding with mum and learning to love A recent study published in the journal [...]

Look out for ANTs!

Of late, more and more schools are asking me to work with their students as well as their staff. My most popular workshop at the moment is Learning to Bounce where we explore resilience. Resilience is generally accepted to mean the ability to bounce back after adversity. However, inspired by the words of Dr Sue [...]

Hover No More: Helicopter Parents May Breed Depression and Incompetence in Their Children

Helicopter parents, stop hovering: it’s officially not good for your kids — especially if they’re already grown. A new study in the Journal of Child and Family Studies found that being overly involved in your grown-up kids’ lives can do more harm than good. The research was conducted by the same scientists who showed last [...]

Pro-ana websites

''Ana'' is not a real person but an identity, adopted as self, friend and foe, the embodiment of anorexia. Her speech is the self-talk and self-hate that typifies a condition that is all about internalising how you look - or think you look - on the outside, and clinging to the conviction that salvation [...]

The long shadow cast by childhood bullying on mental health in adulthood

A new study shows that children who are exposed to bullying during childhood are at increased risk of psychiatric disorders in adulthood, regardless of whether they are victims or perpetrators. Professor William E. Copeland of Duke University Medical Center and Professor Dieter Wolke of the University of Warwick led a team in examining whether bullying [...]

The Perfect Storm…the youth mental health crisis

There has always been a generation gap that has vexed many an older person as they struggle to comprehend what’s going on in the minds of young people. But now there is broadening acceptance amongst experts and clinicians alike, that there is something more serious happening this time. The mental health crisis engulfing our young [...]

Happiness vs meaning

While happiness and a sense of meaning benefit from a strong social network and both suffer when a person feels isolated or lonely, time spent with loved ones was found to be important for meaning, but not necessarily for happiness. via Happiness: A Sad Life Isn't Necessarily A Bad Life... | Stuff.co.nz.

What’s the role of PE at School?

Kids are getting fatter. And whilst I certainly do not endorse kids being measured and weighed regularly at school, I do think they should be exercising regularly – every day actually. There were some interesting articles doing the rounds in the UK last week regarding the effectiveness of Physical Education lessons with regard to keeping [...]

Dolly – Girl Mag Review

You Only Live Once. Why not change the world? Dolly February 2013 As always, I’m confused about teen girls’ magazines approach to airbrushing and photo-shop (see here for a past example of my confusion). This issue contains an explanation of the ‘Retouch Free Zone’. “DOLLY is all about healthy body image – that’s why we [...]

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