Mentoring, Debating and the impact of News on our Mental Health

I had a very dynamic co-presenter with me in the studio today - Esther Shim. Esther completed her International Baccalaureate in 2014 and is now getting ready to start a media course at University. Hopefully she will be around and helping me in episodes to come building her experience and making some great shows at the same time! Also in todays show is Vicki Condon from the Raise Foundation.

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Raise need 300 more mentors 
Let's help them find them...

I had a very dynamic co-presenter with me in the studio today - Esther Shim. Esther completed her International Baccalaureate in 2014 and is now getting ready to start a media course at University. Hopefully she will be around and helping me in episodes to come building her experience and making some great shows at the same time!

Esther introduced us to the world of the International Baccalaureate - the IB. In order to support her group she set up a facebook group so they could network and support each other - check it out. Esther contributes throughout the show and brings valuable insights - with a great discussion on the importance of getting involved right at the end of the show after all the What's on's...make sure you stay to hear it :-)

Today we had a wonderful interview with Vicki Condon from Raise Foundation the Youth Mentoring Foundation. They are looking for 300 new mentors and we want to help them find them. Listen to the interview, share it, be inspired and be inspiring. We have so much to offer just by being a good ear and a sounding board, if you have time then offer to get involved. They have 17 schools in Melbourne and Sydney participating in the ISMO project as well as a BUMPS program for new mums. All of this is supported by great companies who are prepared to sponsor the projects and support their local communities.

Contact details - info@raise.org.au and the website is www.raise.org.au

It takes a village 
to raise a family

Getting involved

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Resources

Contact details for Raise Foundation:

info@raise.org.au
http://raise.org.au/


How to support young people to handle the harsh reality of our news:

References:
http://www.abc.net.au/health/thepulse/stories/2014/07/22/4050435.htm

http://tgn.anu.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Disasters-the-media-and-your-child.pdf

Compaints about reporting in the media
http://www.acma.gov.au/Home/Citizen/Take%20action/Complaints

E-Resources at Kuring-gai Library
http://www.kmc.nsw.gov.au/Services_facilities/Facilities_and_venues/Libraries/e-Resources


The Girl to Woman song by Rachel Kane is finally available for launch after the launch at the Girl to Woman Festival this weekend. Check out the website - if you feel inspired to bring the festival to your area please contact the organisers, I am sure they would discuss the ethos behind this unique festival celebrating all that is precious about young women as they grow up.

Esther shared with us her experience of debating with the YMCA Youth and Government program. This is the segment that has been corrupted but we will make it a standalone segment - it is worth it. I was very interested to see if debating in this program was as abusive as the debating we see on television in our parliament. I was pleased to hear that there is a greater focus on unpicking the bills in order to present a more unified bill than playing psychological games to debase the person presenting. There is definitely robust debate but it does not get sidelined to cheap shots and personal comments to take the opposition off track. I have much to learn about debating in the Australian Parliament but what I do know is that we need to be constantly aware of the position we hold as role models - if we think it is OK to belittle and bully people then we cannot be talking about legislation or support for bullying programs - the words carry no weight of integrity. 

Unfortunately this part of the program has had a problem but I will rectify it and add it as an extra to the show...ho hum such a lot that can go wrong with recordings! 

The way we speak affects our mental health

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The consequence of the 24-hour news cycle is that we are aware of far more than we were 20 years ago - so what affect does this have on our mental health and how can we support our children and young adults with they/we are seeing and hearing? That was the discussion in the 2nd half of tonights show. The source material was from the Trauma & Grief Support Network part of Australian National University

Children are not born with hate and prejudice, they learn it through what they see and hear. 

We are one humanity, our hearts and the blood pumping round our bodies do not show our race, nationality, religious beliefs. 

Top things to watch out for:

• Your Child thinking alot about the event and it impacting on their sleep patterns
• Concerns that the same thing could happen to their family 
• A feeling that the same could happen to them or their family

Top Tips:

• Limit the amount of time they can watch coverage of the incident on TV or the internet
• Watch it together, talk about their fears
• Help them to understand why it is happening and discuss likelyhood of it happening in your family
• Give a balance of other things that are happening in the world
• Take time to do something else - if you are watching it, they are watching it
• Reassuring them that they are safe and you are there to support them physically and mentally as well as answering their questions.

You can't unsee what you seen so having good support to talk it through is essential for all ages.