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By William Lee This week marks children’s mental health week. A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of attending an educational workshop on the importance of children’s mental health. The early-morning event was organized and sponsored by the Waterloo Region District School Board and was presented by Dr. Ian Manion, a clinical psychologist, [...]

TV is bad for your teen. Or so goes the conventional wisdom. Kids today are exposed to increased TV viewing from a young age, and are now more connected to the online world than ever before. According to a study done by the Centre of knowledge on healthy child development, small children, and even infants, are [...]

What is bullying? Is it the physical aspect of punching or pushing someone, or the verbal aspect of shouting names at others? Bullying can take on many shapes and forms, and the two aspects just mentioned are merely the most visible and discernible ones. There are many more facets of bullying that passes under the [...]

Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth of Ontario reports, “Mental illness often begins in childhood and persists over the long-term.  Mental illness may be the biggest health problem facing Canadian children.  In Ontario, 15-21% or between 467,000 and 654,000 children and youth have a mental health need.  Their daily living activities and [...]

When I first heard the story of a two year old boy found dead in a suitcase in Jamaica, I was of course upset.  Upon reading the story, however, I was pleased to hear that neighbours of the family had become concerned because they had not seen the boy for over two months and called police.  It [...]

Canada is a country full of opportunity and is definitely a country of significant wealth.  This would lead you to believe that Canada is doing right by its youngest citizens, but how true is this?  You may be surprised to find out that there are some areas where Canada is not doing such a great [...]

When I think of Christmas I think of it being a special time for children. For many children it is a magical time, but for others it is not. My wish for all children this Christmas is that they are surrounded by love, that they are safe and cared for, and that they have inner [...]

I have been remiss in mentioning some very important dates that have recently passed. November 20 marked Universal Children’s Day which is identified as a day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children. November 20 marks the day on which the Declaration of the Rights of the Child was adopted in 1959, and the Convention [...]

Story after story has poured out about the sex scandal at Penn State and I have been shocked on a number of counts. Why on earth has so much of the focus been on the firing of the beloved head coach and the big game on Saturday. Are you kidding me? That is not even [...]

Never before have we known so much about how infants and young children learn, think and act.  The earliest interventions are important because: The newborn brain develops at an astonishing rate and is directly influenced by the quality of relationships Strong, stable relationships give infants and toddlers their best chance to become emotionally competent 46% [...]