A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
• Drink spiking does occur. • If your drink is salty, chemical-tasting, or gritty, stop drinking. • Spiking is just as likely to occur in a home or party as it is in a nightclub or bar. • It is more likely to be carried out by someone you know, or have recently stuck up [...]
A Western Australian Government campaign will aim to stem rising levels of teen drinking following a survey of teenage drug and alcohol use. The Australian Students Alcohol and Drug Survey covered over 2,500 students aged 12-17. The survey found that 40 per cent of the students had consumed alcohol in the past month, and 27 [...]
Psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg has blamed sexualisation for the 'sexual assault' of two six-year-old girls by their classmates. In one case in the Queensland school, a group of first-grade students reportedly removed a girl's underwear in the school toilets. The girls involved have since been removed from the school. Dr Carr-Gregg, child psychologist and Generation [...]
We should never underestimate the impact that peer pressure can have on our children, particularly when it comes to alcohol, but far more important at this time is ‘social pressure’ or influence. This is something that we rarely talk about, but it is far more likely to affect teenagers’ behaviour as it is much more [...]
Professor Susan Greenfield, world renowned neuroscientist from the University of Oxford, discussed the impact that computer games can have on the brain in an interview on Lateline on the ABC last week. She concluded that video games change the game player’s mind, both in good and bad ways. Professor Greenfield described our brains as being [...]
A study published last week in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research added additional weight to the Australian Government's recommendation for parents to avoid giving alcohol to children under 15 years of age. The study looked at over 6,000 Australian twins and found that the earlier the children had their first drink, the more likely they [...]
A recent study discussed in Time Magazine found that out of a list of factors examined, depression showed the strongest relationship with acne. The study was carried out in Oslo, Norway, where over 3,500 18-19 year olds were surveyed. The study found that 19 per cent of the teens who reported mental distress had acne, [...]
On the 24th of September in Sydney, politician Greg Donnelly will host a breakfast discussion about the sexualisation of children titled “Raising Healthy Kids in a Sexualized World”. It will feature speakers Maggie Hamilton, Julie Gale and Melinda Tankard Reist. Presentations will be given over the course of the breakfast, with a question and answer [...]
Breakfast is a necessary meal for children, raising alert levels and performance at school, as well as making the children healthier and happier. Despite the great advantages however, many children have a daily habit of skipping breakfast. Around the country schools are trying a novel solution to combat the problem by providing a healthy breakfast [...]
There are parents who will look at some questions and be concerned that by addressing them with their child they might be seen as condoning their use of alcohol or tactfully encouraging risky behaviour. Of course you don’t want to normalise risky behaviour, so how you present this sort of information is of paramount importance. [...]
