Family Wellbeing

Since the Australian social media bans were introduced, I have been asking every 12 to 15 year old I see the same question: have you been blocked from social media, and how are you coping without it? First, I want to be clear that I strongly support protecting young people from the risks that exist online. I genuinely hoped this policy might make a meaningful difference. But I have been surprised by what I am actually hearing. The vast majority of this age group are still act

We have no real answers for school refusal. No guideline, no manual, no agreed pathway, not for GPs and, from recent experience, not even for our schools. So when a GP colleague stopped me recently and asked what we are meant to do about families dealing with school refusal, all I could honestly offer was that we are working this out as we go. Back in 2015, nearly four in five Australian students attended school at least 90 per cent of the time. By 2024 that had fallen to jus

Over the last few weeks I have seen dozens of mums bring in their sons and daughters, trying to navigate their mental health and their lives at home and school. It has had me thinking more and more about the role of dads, who are so often at work during the appointment. Recently I asked a mum how dad was going. Her answer stuck with me. She said she just wished she could get him to come in and see someone, that if he would talk to someone family life would be so much easier,