A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
When schools ask me to chat to parents, one of the things I often cover with them is how to – or how not to – use social media. I urge parents not to vent their anger around a school on Facebook as, if we’re being honest, it’s often an issue that has been blown [...]
Recent news of former NSW premier’s daughter Harriet Wran being charged with murder is another illustration of Australia’s growing problem with the drug ice. Wran, who is said to have been battling an ice addiction, has been charged with murder, attempted murder, and breaking and entering while armed with a knife, along with Michael Lee. Another [...]
Food companies are advertising products such as Kit Kats and Coco Pops to children because they are classified as healthy by their own nutritional standards. A NSW Cancer Council analysis found that 63 per cent of food that appeared in television advertisements was considered unhealthy under Food Standards Australia New Zealand nutrient profiling. The analysis [...]
Chronic disease and injury caused by alcohol has significantly increased over a decade, causing 15 deaths and 430 hospitalisations each day in Australia, according to a new report. The VicHealth and Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education’s Alcohol’s burden of disease in Australia report, released today, shows the number of alcohol-attributed hospitalisations and deaths has increased by [...]
Lets face it, watching the evening news bulletin rarely makes for cheery viewing, but in the last few months it seems to have been particularly harrowing. Plane crashes, war zones, suicides and urban shootings have seemingly dominated the headlines. As an adult I’ve found it hard to watch. As an educator I’ve found it harder [...]
Robin Williams’ death earlier this week has unleashed an outpouring of grief. It’s undeniable that Williams brought much joy and laughter to the world, but he also talked openly about his depression and problems with alcohol and cocaine. Depression, alcohol and drug dependence are killers – and they’re indiscriminate killers. It doesn’t matter how wealthy, [...]
Technology offers innovative tools that are shaping educational experiences for students, often in positive and dynamic ways. The research by Mueller and Oppenheimer serves as a reminder, however, that even when technology allows us to do more in less time, it does not always foster learning. Learning involves more than the receipt and the regurgitation [...]
The number of children who self-harm has increased by more than 70 per cent in the past two years to record levels, according to new figures. The Health and Social Care Information Centre said some 6,500 children – just under 6,000 of whom were female – aged 10 to 14 had been treated after deliberately [...]
People who send or threaten to distribute explicit images without consent could soon be charged, with the Napthine government introducing Australia's first “sexting” offences into Parliament this week. The new laws, which will be introduced into Parliament on Thursday, will ensure that young people who receive or send raunchy but non-exploitative sexts are spared from [...]
Australians have become accustomed to labels on cigarettes warning about the risk of smoking causing cancer and other diseases. And our research, published in the latest edition of BMC Public Health, shows similar labels could help consumers better understand the harms of drinking alcohol. Alcohol is estimated to cost the Australian economy A$36 billion a year in preventable [...]
