RIPPONLEA PRIMARY SCHOOL

Mental Health & Wellbeing Students/Parents/Carers Support 

Articles, Videos & Resources

FREE WEBINAR

This week, the eSafety Commissioner shared some alarming news:

 

"...In my time as Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, we've seen a dramatic increase in complaints about online harm across nearly every category. 

 

For instance, sextortion cases have surged by 1,332% since 2018!"

 

As AI continues to influence our children’s online experiences, it's more important than ever for parents to stay informed. Understanding how to protect and support your kids from potential threats, like deep fakes and other online dangers, is crucial.

 

We’re thrilled to invite you to a free live webinar on September 10, 2024. I'll be joined by experts Trent Ray and Leon Furze. Together, we’ll explore the latest developments in Generative AI, discuss emerging risks, and share practical strategies to keep your children safe online. 

 

Don’t miss this important event! Spread the word to friends and family—this is a webinar you won’t want to miss!

 

Vanessa Hamilton

Webinar Registration - Zoom

 

MOTIVATION & CONFIDENCE IN CHILDREN 

Clinical psychologist Andrew Fuller has written a 2-part resource titled How parents can increase motivation and confidence in children. 

 

Andrew begins by acknowledging that “Motivation is a slippery customer,” and that kids (and adults) sometimes struggle to find motivation to do the tasks they have to do. 

 

The resource explains how brain chemistry can affect motivation, and goes on to give detailed suggestions on how parents can help their children to build and maintain motivation for school work and other tasks.

 

Andrew has kindly made this resource available to our readers free of charge – you can download it from the links below.

 

How parents can increase motivation and confidence in children Part 1

How parents can increase motivation and confidence in children Part 2

 

SMARTPHONES & MENTAL HEALTH

A recent article in the Conversation looks at the link between smartphones and mental health issues in teenagers. The article focuses on a new book by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt titled The Anxious Generation. 

 

According to the article:

Haidt argues that the evidence is in. Teenagers’ widespread use of smartphones is causing a mental health crisis. Individual, collective and legislative action is required to limit their smartphone access.

The article critically examines the claim of a “mental health epidemic” among teenagers, the difficulty of assigning a cause to mental health issues, and what can be done about the problem.

The article cites Haidt’s four “foundational concerns” about smartphones:

  • Social deprivation: a smartphone is an “experience blocker”, taking up hours a day that would otherwise be spent in physical play or in-person conversations with friends and family.
  • Sleep deprivation: too many teenagers stay on their smartphones late at night when they need rest.
  • Attention fragmentation: alerts and messages continually drag teenagers away from the present moment and tasks requiring concentration.
  • Addiction: apps and social media are deliberately designed to hack vulnerabilities in teenagers’ psychologies, leading to an inability to enjoy anything else.

Well worth a read for parents!

 

How Smart Phones have created an anxious generation.

SCREENS - FOUR WAYS TO HELP YOUR CHILD USE THEM WELL

This article in the Conversation reports on a recent review of 100 studies about children and screens. The article begins:

Screen time is one of the top worries for Australian parents. In a national February 2021 poll by the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, parents rated it as the number-one health issue facing their children. Our previous research also shows parents feel guilty about screens, even though they are all around us.At the same time, guidance on what parents should be doing is confusing…

The researchers who reviewed all those studies managed to extract a simple message for parents: four research-based ways parents can help their children use screens in healthy ways:

  1. Make screen time together time
  2. Choose age-appropriate content that encourages play
  3. Don’t let screens get in the way of parent-child interactions
  4. Don’t have the TV on in the background

You’ll notice that the article examines the way parents use screens themselves, as well as how they manage the children’s screen time.

 

Screens - Four ways to help your child use them well. 

 

NEURODIVERSITY & LEARNING STRENGTHS 

Resources for Parents

Clinical psychologist Andrew Fuller has created three useful resources for parents about various aspects of neurodiversity in children. The topics are:

Each resource gives a rundown of typical patterns associated with each area, that will help parents to understand their neurodiverse child. We think parents will find particularly useful the sections in each resource headed “Converting Neurodiversity into Neuro-advantage” and “How Parents Can Help”.

 

We thank Andrew for allowing us to publish these resources. You can see more free resources on Andrew’s website.