Generation Next Blog

November 2012

Snared in the tentacles of a dark and dangerous place

By |2012-11-05T11:43:47+11:00November 5th, 2012|Categories: Cybersafety, Mental Health & Wellbeing|Tags: , , , , , |

As one of Britain's foremost child psychotherapists, Julie Lynn Evans thought she had long since heard every parental nightmare. But last week, after reading the tragic story of 15-year-old Tallulah Wilson, who killed herself after visiting websites about self-harm and anorexia, she found herself in tears. Her clients include three young people who have attempted [...]

The mythic origins of star wars and the matrix

By |2012-11-05T11:43:01+11:00November 5th, 2012|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , , , , |

In 1949 Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) made a big splash in the field of mythology with his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces. This book built on the pioneering work of German anthropologist Adolph Bastian (1826-1905), who first proposed the idea that myths from all over the world seem to be built from the same [...]

Fat chance this will work – and they know it

By |2012-11-05T11:42:18+11:00November 5th, 2012|Categories: Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , |

WeightWatchers served up a super-sized offering of hypocrisy with the launch of its Plate of Our Nation campaign. Earlier this month the diet company teamed up with the chef and co-host of My Kitchen Rules, Pete Evans, to launch what it calls a ''national movement'' to ''investigate the root causes of Australia's growing obesity problem [...]

5 tips for forgiveness: empowering children to deal with anger

By |2012-11-05T11:17:23+11:00November 5th, 2012|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , , |

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. Gandhi. A lot is written about youth angst and displays of aggression, however the tools needed to help them deal with anger, their own and other peoples, is not very often addressed. One of the most important aspects of empowering a child to [...]

October 2012

Some Secrets Should Never Be Kept

By |2012-10-29T22:12:49+11:00October 29th, 2012|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing|Tags: , , , , |

Some Secrets Should Never Be Kept is a beautifully illustrated picture book that sensitively broaches the subject of keeping our children safe from sexual interference. This book’s focus is sexual abuse prevention, and has been written and illustrated in a way that is neither frightening nor confronting. Story is an excellent medium when talking to children [...]

Readers getting younger: is Girlfriend moving in on Dolly?

By |2012-10-29T21:50:26+11:00October 29th, 2012|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Technology|Tags: , , , , , , |

Girl Mag Watch October 2012 Reading the October issue (yes, I know, just scraping this review in in time) of Girlfriend, I found myself checking the front cover to make sure I’d picked up Girlfriend and not Dolly. I’m wondering if perhaps Girlfriend is moving in on Dolly’s readership. And, if so, could this see [...]

Why the Taliban are afraid of educated women and girls

By |2012-11-02T17:47:13+11:00October 29th, 2012|Categories: Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , |

Given that the Taliban is in the midst of what they claim is a ‘holy war’ against both the US and their own government, it may seem baffling that they would continue to spend time threatening teenage girls. Two weeks after they shot schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai in the head (along with two of her classmates) [...]

4 foundation stones to building positive thinking and resilience

By |2012-10-29T13:49:13+11:00October 29th, 2012|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Is your cup half empty or half full? Experts say that it is not so much what happens to us but what we think about what happens to us that determines how we feel. This is important when teaching children resilience and how to handle life’s challenges. Andrew Fuller is a clinical psychologist and Generation [...]

The Science of Stuttering

By |2012-10-29T12:40:51+11:00October 29th, 2012|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Science & Research|Tags: , , , , , |

The latest blockbuster film about King George VI, The King’s Speech, is a modern popular example of someone struggling with a stutter. As portrayed in the film it is a psychological derived problem that King George suffered from, not a physical condition. Interestingly for a film with no action, violence or nudity it has proven [...]

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