Category: Child health
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Supporting families to raise healthy kids: The INFANT program
Rachel Laws, Penny Love, Megan Adam, and Kylie Hesketh Anyone who has endured a high chair standoff over food, or battled nap time with an exhausted child, will know that raising a baby is not for the faint hearted. The first 1,000 days, from conception to two years, are critical.…
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The global food system’s broken: there are now more obese children than underweight
Claire Johnson For the first time in history, obesity among school-age children and adolescents has overtaken underweight worldwide. That is the headline finding of UNICEF’s 2025 Child Nutrition Report: Feeding Profit released today, which I co-authored during my time at UNICEF Headquarters as the Global Technical Lead for Food Environments…
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Junk food giants using movies to target children is a public health problem
Jane Martin, Katarnya Hickey, and Rosie Hart If you know school aged children, you likely know about Minecraft. It’s an online, multi-player game that allows children to be creative while building and exploring in a safe and relatively open-ended space. Australian kids love it. Research from New Media &…
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Forcing kids behind bars creates more crime, not less
Malcolm Baalman Across Australia, at any time, around 400 children aged 10 to 13 are incarcerated for criminal actions. Over 50% of these are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids. Public health takes a lifelong perspective on the health of populations and the impact that all people have on those…
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Baby and toddler foods are not what they seem
Jane Martin and Andrea Schmidtke Picture this. You head into the supermarket to stock up on food for the week and a trip away at the weekend. Convenient food for your two-year-old is what you’re after — something healthy, but also something you know they’ll eat and that can be…
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Watching Bluey or walking the dog? How grandparents entertain the kids
PHAA Communications It’s a scenario that many families can relate to – childcare is expensive, hard to secure or simply too inflexible and so the grandparents become regular babysitters. With many families now having both parents working, Australia’s grandparents have become our biggest providers of informal care. Which raises the…
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Australia urgently needs better preconception health support
Amie Steel, Edwina Dorney, Jacqueline Boyle Most people know that smoking and drinking alcohol during pregnancy is not ideal. But very few know just how important it is for both parents to maintain healthy behaviours, not only during pregnancy, but in the weeks or months beforehand. The health of both…
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Please help stop the war on children in Gaza – appeal by paediatricians and child health experts
Prof Fiona Stanley AC FAA FASSA FAHMS and Dr Suezanne Packer AO FRACP Prof Stanley is a longstanding public health leader, and a Life Member of the Public Health Association. As paediatricians and child health professionals we have committed our professional lives to promoting the physical and psychological health of…
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Next gen of researchers in early childhood health pave the way for cross-discipline collaboration
EPOCH-Connect In early childhood health promotion, collaboration is essential to break down disciplinary silos and create systemic change. Bringing together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and families allows for innovative research and the translation of findings into tangible, real-world impact. Collaborative and impactful research requires skills beyond those taught in research training…
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Early interventions crucial for children’s mental health: Prof Sharon Goldfeld
PHAA The inaugural Preventive Mental Health Symposium, which happens in Melbourne and online on 12 March, marks the first time experts from the mental health and public health sectors get together to discuss ways to protect and promote mental wellbeing. It’s hosted by the Public Health Association of Australia, in…
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Proceed with caution, parents – zero alcohol drinks are not risk-free
Mr Nathan Harrison and Dr Ashlea Bartram You might have noticed that there are more and more zero-alcohol drinks appearing on shelves in Australia. Non-alcoholic beers, wines and spirits (containing <0.5% alcohol), are designed to look and taste like the alcoholic versions of the brands they are modelled on and…
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Comprehensive vaping reforms needed to protect kids
Dr Matthew Tuson and Angela Gazey “Brick and mortar” vape stores have proliferated across Australia in recent years. One only needs to search ‘vape stores’ on Google Maps to see their ubiquitous presence. Our recent research, published in The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health (ANZJPH), identified almost…
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Industry’s bogus ad scheme fails to protect children from alcohol exposure
Chanelle Wilson, Cancer Council Western Australia When children from Mount Hawthorn Primary School left for the day back in June, the first thing they saw was a large glass of wine and the tagline “when it rains, we pour” pictured on a bus stop advertisement. The ad was for ‘Cabin…
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Cyberbullying among adolescents a major issue for mental health
Chenai F Dunduru and Dr Fahad Hanna Content warning: this article contains discussions of suicide. The relationship between cyberbullying and suicidality is a major public health issue that has captured the attention of researchers across the globe. In Australia, over half of all young people have experienced cyberbullying, which can…
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First phase of measures against vaping to combat growing harms
Associate Professor Michelle Jongenelis Disposable vapes are the brightly coloured plastic devices you’re seeing kids and young adults puffing on pretty much everywhere. They are also the devices you’re accidentally stepping on when walking along the footpath. While we were busy figuring out how to survive COVID-19, disposable vapes hit…
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Government regulation urgently needed to protect young children’s diets from food marketing influence
Dr Alexandra Chung, Monash University Babies and toddlers can’t yet write a grocery shopping list, but they are considered fair game when it comes to food marketing. Our new research published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health reveals how babies and toddlers are being targeted with front-of-pack…
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Safety must trump profit when it comes to consumer products
Dr Catherine Niven, Research Fellow, Australian Centre for Health Services Professor Kirsten Vallmuur, Chair of Trauma Surveillance and Data Analytics, Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation & the Jamieson Trauma Institute Are you one of the millions of Australians that think businesses are legally required to ensure their products are safe…
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Fracking in 2023? Our children’s health must come first.
Dr Louise Woodward, Paediatrician, Northern Territory Fracking makes our kids sick. It pollutes the air we breathe, the food we grow and the water we need to survive. It’s also driving harmful climate change. “First, do no harm” is a defining principle in medicine. A simple phrase to make doctors…
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Next steps to helping children thrive with an expanded South Australian School Breakfast Program
Dr Alanna Sincovich, Senior Research Officer Telethon Kids Institute, Executive Committee PHAA SA Branch; Ms Mary Brushe, Study Manager Telethon Kids Institute, Vice President PHAA SA Branch. In the recently launched 2023-24 South Australian State Budget, the Premier announced an additional $6.5 million of funding to expand the state’s School…
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The first sleep health program for First Nations adolescents could change lives
Yaqoot Fatima, The University of Queensland; Azhar Potia, The University of Queensland; James Ward, The University of Queensland, and Mina Kinghorn, The University of Queensland Adolescence is a sensitive life stage when emerging independence, changing social roles, excessive screen time, academic pressures, and significant biological changes can lead to emotional…
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On World No Tobacco Day, read an expert’s perspective on e-cigarettes
Editor’s note: Today, Wednesday 31 May, marks World No Tobacco Day. Yesterday, Associate Professor Michelle Jongenelis spoke before the Health and Environment Committee on their inquiry into reducing rates of e-cigarette use in Queensland. Read her opening statement below. Associate Professor Michelle Jongenelis Thank you for the opportunity to appear…
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‘An important step forward’: If passed, a new ACT Bill will help protect the human rights of intersex children
PHAA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Special Interest Group On March 22, 2023, the ACT government introduced the Variation in Sex Characteristics (Restricted Medical Treatment) Bill 2023. This legislation will be an Australian first and will take action to prevent unnecessary medical interventions on intersex children, protecting and promoting their human…
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How can I help my teen quit vaping?
Michelle Jongenelis, The University of Melbourne You’re driving your teen home from school when they open up to you about their vaping. What started off as an occasional puff of an e-cigarette has turned into something more serious. “I was curious and just wanted to try it,” they say. “All…
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My kids are behind with their vaccines. How do they catch up?
Holly Seale, UNSW Sydney; Abela Mahimbo, University of Technology Sydney, and Jane E Frawley, University of Technology Sydney The vast majority of Australian children are up-to-date with their vaccines. But vaccination rates have dipped slightly over the past few years. Fewer health checks, reduced access to routine health care during…
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NSW politicians and candidate debate public health issues at PHAA NSW event
Image L-R: Hon Brad Hazzard MP, Adj Prof Terry Slevin, Cate Faehrmann MLC, A/Prof Kate McBride, Victoria Davidson, Ryan Park MP, and Prof Annemarie Hennessy. Image credit: Catriona Bonfiglioli/PHAA NSW Shelby Craig, Jainoor Rana, and Elspeth Hickey (PHAA Interns) An estimated 200 people attended PHAA NSW Branch’s Pre-Election…
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Politicians to face a grilling on these key health issues ahead of New South Wales election
Introduction by Croakey: Key politicians will be grilled about their intentions for public health at a New South Wales election debate to be hosted by the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) NSW in Sydney on 27 February. The debate, to be held at the Westmead Innovation Quarter and live-streamed, will…
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My teen’s vaping. What should I say? 3 expert tips on how to approach ‘the talk’
Joshua Trigg, Flinders University and Billie Bonevski, Flinders University You’ve dropped your daughter off at her friend’s house and while cleaning the car, you find what looks like a USB drive on the passenger seat. It’s a disposable vape. You’ve seen the news. Vapes or e-cigarettes are harmful yet…
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Children at greater risk of harm online if industry-drafted safety standards adopted
Dr Fiona Robards, PHAA Child and Youth Health Special Interest Group Co-Convenor Children should be shielded from online harms such as pro-terror content, child sexual exploitation material, and unethical marketing. Yet new draft Online Safety Codes, if formally registered by the eSafety Commissioner, threaten to water down protections and…
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Aim for better data on firearms, says public health expert
Adjunct Professor Terry Slevin (left) told an audience at Parliament House that gun control is not and never should be a partisan issue. It is and must always be a community safety issue. On Tuesday 22 November 2022, PHAA Chief Executive Officer, Adjunct Professor Terry Slevin, presented to parliamentarians…
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Locking up kids has serious mental health impacts and contributes to further reoffending
Summer May Finlay, University of Wollongong; Ee Pin Chang, The University of Western Australia; Jemma Collova, The University of Western Australia, and Pat Dudgeon, The University of Western Australia This article contains information on violence experienced by First Nations young people in the Australian carceral system. There are mentions of…