A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Surprise and disappointment accompanied the recent publication of country by country test results from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study when Australian children unexpectedly performed poorly. In the reading literacy test our children rated 27 out of the 49 countries tested and in the maths [...]
Hundreds of children have been treated for sports-related head injuries at the Royal Children's Hospital in the past six months and many are returning to the field after a concussion, contrary to guidelines. About 300 children arrived at the hospital's emergency department with sports-related head injuries between May and November. They included 90 children who [...]
Melinda Tankard Reist Girlfriend and Dolly can be commended this year for taking strong stands on alcohol and drugs. This issue of GF is no exception, with ‘The High Life’ exploring the harms of smoking marijuana. When celebs boast about it – such as Miley Cyrus posting a photo of herself smoking pot with the [...]
An article in The Age recently opened up, yet again, the discussion around education and the pros and cons of a conservative approach to teaching and learning or a more innovative, creative approach. It made for thought-provoking reading. I make no apology for being a huge fan of Sir Ken Robinson and his ideals of [...]
Why do kids like playing video games so much? Is it because they’re violent, misogynistic or just plain mind-numbing? Generation Next speaker Dr Wayne Warburton has conducted research that shows the impact of violent games on the adolescent brain has both short and long term effects. None of them good. Let’s leave violent [...]
Scientists have discovered that the human body contains more than 25,000 genes, but what they do remains mostly a mystery. "We don't know the function of the vast majority of genes," says Nevan Krogan, PhD, director of the UC San Francisco branch of the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences. via The gene machine.
Poor mental health and casual sex contribute to each other over time among teen and young adults, a new study published in the Journal of Sex finds. Researchers at Ohio State University found that teens who showed symptoms of being depressed were more likely than others to have casual sex. It also discovered an inverse [...]
While young children sleep, connections between the left and the right hemispheres of their brain strengthen, which may help brain functions mature, according to a new study by the University of Colorado Boulder. The research team - led by Salome Kurth, a postdoctoral researcher, and Monique LeBourgeois, assistant professor in integrative physiology - used electroencephalograms, [...]
Around the world, many children do not run as far or as fast as their parents did when they were kids, according to a large study presented at a scientific meeting in the US recently. The study concludes that today's kids are about 15% less aerobically fit than their parents were at their age. And in the US, [...]
When faced with stress, does the very thought of food turn your stomach, or do you instantly reach for a burger and fries or a bar of chocolate? People who seek solace in food during times of stress are usually the ones told to regulate their bad habits, but new research from Germany finds that, [...]
