Pastoral Care and Wellbeing - SchoolTV
We all want young people to be happy and healthy and make the best choices they can. Access to quality information is critical. In September, Choizes Media made their annual presentation to year nine students and parents. We hope those that attended found the seminars worthwhile.
Researchers are telling us that young people are accessing developmentally inappropriate content in the digital world. This includes gambling or gaming that is conditioning a gambling response, and online pornography or sexually explicit content. This month on SchoolTV specialist information is available on Gambling and Online Pornography.
We hope that this content contributes to empowering parents to continue being an influential presence in their children’s life. This week’s newsletter has links to some great resources.
Online Pornography
Experts say that the internet is sexualising kids too soon. It is making it easier for children to engage with pornography, both by choice and inadvertently. Regrettably, this is forcing parents to have the ‘birds and bees’ chat with their children at a very young age.
With the rise of social media and online porn, many parents are alarmed about protecting the innocence of their children. Unfortunately, what kids are seeing is distorting their idea of sexuality and intimacy. Parents are encouraged to educate their kids on sex and sexuality with age appropriate information.
However, when it comes to having conversations with their kids around pornography, many parents feel ill-equipped. A young person’s brain is highly impressionable and vulnerable to forming addictive patterns of behaviour which can affect their development and even impact their academic performance.
In this edition of SchoolTV, parents will learn strategies on how to have those difficult conversations and what they can do to minimise the negative effects of online pornography.
Here is the link to theOnline Pornographyedition of SchoolTV.
Impact of Gambling
Children and teenagers are particularly vulnerable to marketing tactics and this is greatly concerning. Research shows that children as young as 8, are able to easily recall the marketing for sports betting. It is having a major impact on the way in which young people think about the relationship between gambling and sport. The 'normalisation' of sports betting is posing a threat to Australian teenagers.
Children are also being inadvertently exposed to simulated gambling and gambling sites through mobile devices. With video games being extremely popular, this has the potential to blur the boundary between video gaming and gambling.
Research suggests that more than 40 per cent of young people, who have an interest in video games with gambling-like features, will also have a preoccupation with gambling or intend to gamble in the future. A study for conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research, found that up to five per cent of young people in Australia will develop gambling problems before the age of 25.
Here is the link to theImpact of Gambling edition of SchoolTV.
We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered through SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact The College.
Ms Anne Hodkinson I College Psychologist
Contact:
- Kids Help Line on 1800 500 18000 and atKidshelpline
- Youth Beyond Blue on 1300 224636 or atYouthbeyondblue
- The College Psychologist during school hours (contact College Reception for access)
- Your General Practitioner and local specialist support services