A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Sarah Hellewell, Curtin University Understanding the facial expressions of others is an important development stage. It helps us learn non-verbal communication and to recognise when someone is angry or scared and primes us to react to threats or show empathy for others’ feelings. A growing body of evidence suggests our neighbourhood environment shapes this response [...]
Melissa Kang, University of Sydney It’s a tale as old as time. Around half of adolescents going through puberty will get their period. In high-income countries, an adolescent’s first period (known as “menarche”) happens on average between ten and 14 years of age, with most occurring between 12 and 13 years. Why then does this [...]
Rebecca Mitchell, Macquarie University and Anne McMaugh, Macquarie University NAPLAN scores can tell us about a child’s learning, but can they also help us to support learners who have had a serious injury or a long-term chronic illness like asthma or epilepsy? Children who spend time in hospital for these reasons miss out on time [...]
Tiffani Apps, Karley Beckman and Sarah K. Howard, University of Wollongong Schools’ use of educational technologies (edtech) grew exponentially at the height of COVID lockdowns. A recent Human Rights Watch (HRW) report has exposed children’s rights violations by providers of edtech endorsed by governments in Australia and overseas. The lockdowns have ended but edtech remains embedded [...]
P. Daniel Lin and Valsamma Eapen, UNSW Sydney Children diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism, experience various types of challenges at school. This might be due to communication, and also relationships with other children. Accumulating evidence indicates autistic children are more likely to be bullied. We’ve just published a study which observed autism is the [...]
The Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) is warning that Australia is seeing a global trend in the crime of sexual extortion, with a spike in the number of Australian boys being preyed on by international sex offenders, who are grooming them into producing explicit images and then extorting them for money. The ACCCE [...]
Ms Krystyna Gilowska, Professor Dianne Vella-Brodrick and Story Producer: Nerissa HanninkThe fast pace of modern urban living can be mentally and physically draining. Add the strains of a pandemic, and these challenges can multiply. Imagine being a school student and having to focus on learning and studying during this time. Being an attentive student can [...]
Christine Grové, Monash University and Alexandra Marinucci, Monash University Psychological distress is on the rise among young people in Australia. The implications of COVID-19 and the strain on the training and availability of psychologists are likely to add to the mental health challenges and hinder young people’s ability to get help. Social isolation, loneliness and [...]
PhD Candidate Diana Zhu, Senior Lecturer Zoe Davidson and Associate Professor Simone Gibson, Monash University Overweight and obesity is the second-largest contributor to Australia’s disease burden and health costs, including significantly driving Australia’s high-cost diseases (for example, musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers). It’s estimated to cost the Australian economy $11.8 billion, and if obesity rates continue to [...]
Consistent school attendance is important in any child’s education but for many children in out-of-home care, going to school every day is no easy thing. There are three main types of out-of-home care in Australia: relative (or kinship) care, foster care, and residential care (small group homes). Children and young people who are unable to [...]
