A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Cyber-bullying expert Dr Barbara Spears from the University of South Australia has called for improved technology education and earlier targeting of mental health problems for children in Australian schools. Dr Spears emphasised the increasing problem of cyberbullying however highlighted that banning technology from schools will not solve the problem. She believes instead that children must [...]
Sexting is the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photos electronically, primarily between mobile phones, but can also via internet applications such as MSN, email or social networking sites. In Australia, if the images are of a young person under the age of 18 years, the person taking the pictures, sending them, or possessing [...]
Malcolm had been using ecstasy for over eight years when I spoke to him. He had first used the drug when he was twenty years old after associating with a group of clubbers for almost twelve months. He had observed his group of friends using ecstasy and had decided to try it. When he asked [...]
Alcohol education group DrinkWise launched their latest campaign "Kids and Alcohol Don't Mix" yesterday, which aims to reduce under-age drinking with a focus on educating teens to wait for as long as possible before drinking. The campaign immediately came under fire for the influence alcohol companies have over it when professor Simon Chapman of Sydney [...]
The Australian government has ignored a senate proposal for stricter advertising and classification laws for sexualised music videos and ads aimed at children. The proposal came from a senate committee investigating the sexualisation of children in the media, who concluded that "the inappropriate sexualisation of children in Australia is of increasing concern." On Friday the [...]
A global study has found that almost half of young people know dangerously little about HIV and AIDS. The study found that over 80% of the respondents believed HIV and AIDS are the greatest challenge of our time, however over a third did not believe condoms would be effective at preventing the spread of HIV, [...]
A US study has found 70% of children have low levels of vitamin D, putting them at risk of developing weak bones, rickets and heart disease. The study examined survey data from over 6,000 children ranging from 1-21 years of age, and also found that 9% of the children surveyed suffered from a serious vitamin [...]
Talk to your children about drugs as early and as often as possible. Make sure you speak to them about the range of drugs available, with an emphasis on those they are likely to come into contact with at their particular stage of development. For the very young, including primary school-aged children, most of the [...]
An online bullying survey for the NSW state government will close Friday after giving children the chance to tell of their bullying experiences. The survey is part of the state government’s inquiry in to bullying, focusing on collecting ideas and opinions from the youth. The responses will be used in a report which will later [...]
Psychologist and author Steve Biddulph has slammed the early sexualisation of children, blaming the early exposure of children to sexualised material for the decline in the age of children becoming sexually active. He explains, "the maturity of children has grown in superficial ways - looking, acting and speaking like adults. But the deeper signs are [...]
