A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
70% of smokers say they want to quit. Most smokers start when they are teenagers. Tobacco is addictive, out of the 3 million smokers in Australia, 70% want to quite but find the habit very hard to kick even though they are aware of the health risks. Saturday 1 December 2012, saw a new turning [...]
A weighty issue… Last week there was a call from prominent Australian doctor for schools to include students’ Body Mass Index (BMI) scores on their report cards. The idea behind this is to “stimulate discussion” between parents, teachers and – presumably – kids about their health and in particular, their weight. I [...]
http://tvnz.co.nz/close-up/monday-november-26-5239471/video
On the weekend, the Fairfax media carried an article entitled, How schools fail to curb bad behaviour. The article reported on research by Uniting Care that showed the amount of long-term suspensions in NSW had increased by 36% between 2006 & 2011. Suspension is a topic of hot debate in education. What good does kicking [...]
The prestigious scientific journal Nature asked its readers specifically about their use of three cognition enhancing drugs: methylphenidate (Ritalin), a stimulant normally used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder but well-known on college campuses as a 'study aid'; modafinil (Provigil), prescribed to treat sleep disorders but also used off-label to combat general fatigue or overcome jet [...]
Leading mental health experts are calling for school children to be screened for risk of mental illnesses such as depression and have devised a test that reliably identifies those at high risk. The test can be done on a computer and could be used to alert doctors and psychologists to intervene early, said Barbara Sahakian [...]
People who suffer a traumatic brain injury as a child are more likely to commit offenses as adults, researchers say. Professor Randolph Grace of the University of Canterbury, and Dr Audrey McKinlay from Melbourne's Monash University, studied Canterbury children who had experienced a brain injury as a child from birth to 17 years old. The [...]
It seems that for boys ‘risk taking’ is all part of growing up and is needed to test their skills, strengths, weaknesses and independence in the world. Andrew Fuller, child psychologist and Generation Next speaker, says "We have a world that sanitises away risk, so that means risk becomes even more alluring. Boys are going [...]
We have to be vigilant about who we bring into our children’s lives. We have to be wary. But we also have to trust in others and in society to help us raise our children. Once the checks and balances are made, the safety parameters are installed we need to make a leap of faith. [...]
Alcohol use by expectant mothers can lead to problems with the mental and physical development of their children -- a condition known as fetal alcohol syndrome. Research suggests an incidence of 0.2 to 1.5 per 1,000 live births, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Costs for care of individuals affected by fetal [...]
