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The impact of early puberty on children’s mental health

Feb 21
2 min

The impact of early puberty on children’s mental health

What is early puberty? Early puberty is when a child’s body matures before the age of 8 for girls and 9 for boys. Along with the physical changes that the body goes through during puberty, the child will also experience a range of emotional changes; it is important for parents to understand these to better support children during this time of change, despite whether it is early or within a more normative time frame. For some children / pre-teens the impact of the bodily chang

Curtis Cavanagh

Dec 1, 2022
3 min

Self-Efficacy

There are times in life when we may need to rise to the challenge of a task and find the confidence, skills and determination within to be able to achieve this and ones’ life goals. Self-efficacy is an important aspect of ones’ beliefs within themselves to be able to succeed in any given situation or survive life’s hardships. The idea of self-efficacy is pertinent to social-cognitive theory (Albert Bandura) which highlights the importance of learning from your life and social

Sarah Dunstone

Oct 18, 2022
1 min

'E' is for Enuresis and Encopresis

'A' to 'Z' of Mental Health Children who have enuresis may repeatedly wet, either their clothing or bed, and this can occur during the day or during the night. Typically when the child urinates in inappropriate places this is in accident, not a purposeful behaviour. For many children with enuresis they don’t recognise the body cues of when they need to go to the toilet. While other children may recognise the cues, but get too distracted and forget. Children who wet at night t

Sarah Dunstone

Sep 21, 2022
2 min

Depression

'A' to 'Z' of Mental Health D is for Depression: At first glance depression seems to be quite obvious to recognise: low mood, crying. But what about in teenagers? Teenagers moods are often quite volatile, which is why the signs can easily be missed when they need help from a loved one the most. Symptoms of depression in teenagers may include avoiding seeing friends, appearing sad and lonely, angry, a drop in school grades, and changes in diet where they either eating more or

Sarah Dunstone

Sep 15, 2022
1 min

COVID and Children's Mental Health

'A' to 'Z' of Mental Health The world over, children, their families and wider community have had one thing in common – learning to live with COVID. With the arrival of new variants, this has lead to a rise in uncertainty time-&-time again. Families are trying to manage changes in schooling, work arrangements, family routines and rituals. For many this has become and trying and exhausting time, but why not create different, but equally memorable family moments. Rather than di

Sarah Dunstone

Aug 31, 2022
1 min

Brains - 'A' to 'Z' of Mental Health

B is for Brain: Children’s brains go through significant growth spurts during their early childhood. Once they turn about 6 years of age, their brains are approximately 90-95% of the expected adult size. This is why the early years are such a critical time for a child’s development and their brain development. However, before this brain is ready for the complexities of adult life, it still requires some redevelopment. Am adolescence brain goes through some remodelling which c

Sarah Dunstone

Aug 24, 2022
1 min

'A' to 'Z' of Mental Health

A is for Attachment: Attachment and bonding with a newborn is an important part of their development and wellbeing as this lays the foundation for childhood. Bonding and attachment is about responding to your newborn’s needs with affection and care, and in doing so you become a trusted person in their world. When a baby receives your love, affection, smiles, and cuddles they are able to feel that the world is safe place for them to explore which helps them grow mentally and p

Sarah Dunstone

Aug 12, 2022
2 min

Playtime for Preschoolers

Play is an incredibly important part of a child’s development, including their emotional development. Through play children are given the opportunity to experience and learn how to regulate a range of emotions, happiness, sadness, frustration and anger. Play also provides an opportunity for them to develop their resiliency in trying again if faced with perceived failures, and in connecting with their peers to forming meaningful relationships. At around 3 to 4 years of age, a

Managing Parenting and Family in Times of Stress

Sarah Dunstone

Aug 10, 2022
2 min

Managing Parenting and Family in Times of Stress

Raising a family can be rewarding but also a very stressful time, and mounting pressures from family and work can leave parents susceptible to high-levels of stress. Children model their parents behaviours, including those related to health and stress management. While some people love to eat their emotions during times of stress others may get irritable, while others may withdraw into their own ruminations. When, however, parents deal with stress in unhealthy ways they risk

Sarah Dunstone

Aug 3, 2022
2 min

Imaginary Friends

Children from around 3 to 8 years of age often create their own imaginary friends. This is a natural developmental phase for children which is grown out of a healthy and active imagination. While children are engrossed in a wonderful world of play and fantasy – dreaming of animal friends having picnics on your roof at night or flying dragons and toys coming alive when no one else is around – a child’s imaginary friends is able to help them express their feelings, practise soc

Sarah Dunstone

Jul 28, 2022
2 min

Helping Children with Grief and Loss

Whether it has been on tv or story books, young children have an understanding of death. It is however, the permanence of this that may become more difficult for them to understand. It is then the confusion and pain which ensues that parent’s are unable to take away, but they are able to help teach their children to cope with in healthy ways. Children and adults will experience the loss of a loved one and respond to this in very different ways. While an adult may experience l

Sarah Dunstone

Jun 15, 2022
2 min

Lets Talk About Parenting Guilt

It is real and it is really powerful. So where does this come from and what can we do to manage it? Instincts and biology tell us that all feelings are important and have something very important to tell us, including anxiety and guilt. Feelings of guilt are natural, and come from a sense that we have done something wrong by a loved one, or by our own standards. When feelings of anxiety or guilt become too powerful and intrusive this can lead parents to feel inadequate and le

Sarah Dunstone

Jun 8, 2022
2 min

A Little Me Time

The calendar has just ticked over to the month of June which means that we are half way though the year; there are no more long weekends for a while, and the weather is cooling down again. Making this the perfect time for some renewed inspiration in strengthening our mental wellbeing. Even the smallest of self-care moments can make a big difference, but at times it can be hard to know where to begin. While some people love to meditate, others prefer to go out to a movie or ca

Sarah Dunstone

May 14, 2022
2 min

The Benefits of Play

“To think things through, children need to play things through” – Jean Piaget When engaging in play, children are able to explore and experience the developing world around them. Across gender and cultures children engage in play and it is during these times that our inhibitions can come down, laughter increased, and a sense of freedom discovered. As young children become older children (and even into adulthood), play (or relaxation time) is crucial to our wellbeing and relat

Sarah Dunstone

Apr 20, 2022
1 min

Family Time Means Connection Time

It’s that time of the year again when the Easter Bunny is about to visit. The weather is perfect and this makes for the ideal time for some quality connection time with the family. This may also be a time to start creating your own family rituals, easter egg hunts, favourite holiday destinations, day trips, favourite meals. Spending time together helps families in establishing warm, stable and responsive relationships, this is also fundamental to a child’s ongoing development

A Child's Relationship with their Parents

Sarah Dunstone

Apr 6, 2022
2 min

A Child's Relationship with their Parents

While parental and family support may start to look very different as a child grows into a pre-teen and teen, the need for family and parental support is as much needed as when they were a younger child. During the early years the role of a parent was very much to nurture and protect, but as your child matures into their teenage years, the relationship begins to morph into one of more being equals within the family. As a parent you still have the role of caring, emotional sup

Sarah Dunstone

Mar 23, 2022
1 min

Creating a Parenting Plan

Let’s talk about co-parenting and parenting plans. Creating a parenting plan is a useful way to formalise the details of your new relationship and a place for you and your former partner to clearly discuss your rights and responsibilities in regards to your child / children. This is also the place to work out disputes. Each family situation has it’s own differences, but one important consideration is the way in which you and your former partner to understand an accept differe

Sarah Dunstone

Mar 16, 2022
2 min

Practising Parental Self-Care

If there is one thing that parents can all agree on, is that raising children is one of the hardest and most rewarding jobs that a person can do. The remarkably challenging role of parenting can be made a little easier if you try to look after yourself as well. It is of-course easy to forget, or simply run out of time, in between nappy changes, school drop-offs and loads of laundry. Although as a parent, if you are able to look after yourself physically, mentally and emotiona

Managing Emotions Following a Natural Disaster

Curtis Cavanagh

Mar 9, 2022
2 min

Managing Emotions Following a Natural Disaster

As a community we have all experienced the significant weather event over the past weekend, and for some this has become a natural disaster. The experience of and response to a natural disaster will affect people in different ways. Each member of a family may react very differently to the same situation. Young children can easily become distressed to what is happening in their immediate environment, and this may make a baby or young person feel unsafe and unsettled and will d

Curtis Cavanagh

Mar 2, 2022
2 min

Parental Self-Care

If there is one thing that parents can all agree on, is that raising children is one of the hardest and most rewarding jobs that a person can do. It is of-course easy to forget, or simply run out of time, in between nappy changes, school drop-offs and loads of laundry. Although as a parent, if you are able to look after yourself physically, mentally and emotionally you’ll be able to recharge and have more resources to be able to give your children what they need to grow and f

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