As I make my way to meet parenting gurus Janey Downshire and Naella Grew for a nice grown-up cup of tea in a smart London café, it dawns on me that, if I am really going to test their teenager parenting skills, I ought to turn up in role. First I should be late, irked Read more
“You believe in God? Jesus!” The irony was lost on my friend. The only funny thing he’d picked up on was that I could believe in God. I get it. As a leftie, organic pasta, and free-the-gay-whale type, people tend to think I’m atheist. At a stretch, I’m middle class enough to be a casual Buddhist Read more
It’s what they talk about in movies and soap operas; 15-years-old, Catholic and pregnant. The daughter of a well known policeman, to the son of a well known Catholic school principal. The shame. The embarrassment. The scandal. Well, that was me, the 15-year-old girl, and from the moment I snuck to the doctors to have Read more
A study of what teenagers really want to know about sex has revealed anxiety about being “normal”, and the clear influence of internet pornography. Researchers from Family Planning put question boxes in sex education classes at five high schools across New Zealand last year. Students from years 9 to 12 were able to post their Read more
My mother used to say a phrase I’ll never forget. As a teenager, there were times that I would refuse to do as she asked, would stomp my feet in anger, or argue that she didn’t love me. But she would always reply, “Wait until you’re a mother and you’ll see why I worry about Read more
What can be more painful to a parent than losing a child to suicide? The problem of cyberbullying was brought to national attention several years ago by the passing of 13-year-old Megan Meier, who committed suicide subsequent to cyberbullying by Lori Drew, the mother of another girl. Despite years of public campaigns and passage of Read more
The new deputy principal of Nga Tawa Diocesan School for Girls thinks New Zealand children are very spiritual beings. He said, for instance, New Zealand children were very in tune with their environment. “And this is not to be confused with religion, this is not about religion.” After studying in India Kannan came to Rotorua Read more
Eating Disorders are among some of the most serious and challenging mental illnesses that affect our children and adolescents. Recent research suggeststhat up to 75% of adolescent girls view themselves as overweight or needing to lose weight and around a quarter of our teenagers are experimenting with dangerous dieting behaviour, such as taking laxatives and severely restricting Read more
In a return to old fashioned values, New Zealand youth are admiring skill, determination and achievement above wealth and fame. The most respected heroes and icons are Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Sir Edmund Hillary, Mahatma Ghandi and Nelson Mandela. Jesus and God are the highest ranking religious figures. Youthtown commissioned Point Research to perform Read more
In the past few years a handful of children have deliberately taken their own lives, including one under 9. Kirsty Johnston reports on the unthinkable truth of pre-teen suicide. Krystal was 12 when she killed herself. The Auckland foster child had just had a violent argument with her 7-year-old sister over pocket money and both Read more