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Chapter 23 - Building the Capacity of Early Childhood Educators to Promote Children's Mental Health: Learnings from Three New Programs
- from Part 4 - Leadership and Innovations
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- By Sarah Cavanagh, Clinical Psychologist and Manager at the Australian Psychological Society (APS)., Jo Cole, Clinical Psychologist with 20 years experience in perinatal, infant, child and adolescent mental health, and mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention., Judy Kynaston, General Manager of KidsMatter Early Childhood at Early Childhood Australia (ECA)., Kim-Michelle Gilson, Research Fellow within the Jack Brockhoff Child Health and Wellbeing Program at the University of Melbourne, Australia., Elise Davis, Associate Director, Jack Brockhoff Child Health and Wellbeing Program at the University of Melbourne, Australia., Gavin Hazel, Program Leader at the Hunter Institute of Mental Health, Newcastle, Australia where he focuses on the development, implementation and evaluation of evidence-informed resources, practices, and professional education.
- Edited by Susanne Garvis, Göteborgs Universitet, Sweden, Donna Pendergast, Griffith University, Queensland
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- Book:
- Health and Wellbeing in Childhood
- Published online:
- 21 June 2018
- Print publication:
- 01 September 2017, pp 362-379
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Summary
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of Jo Cole, who contributed to the ideas and writing that appeared in a similar chapter in the first edition of this book. While the chapter in this second edition has been updated and revised from the first edition, we acknowledge Jo's earlier contributions that appear here.
Introduction
Early childhood is a critical time for children's brain development. The experiences children are exposed to shape brain development and the skills and capacities developed during this time provide the foundation for lifelong learning and mental health and wellbeing. While children's primary caregivers and the family environment have the most significant impact on children's early development, children learn within the context of all their relationships and, increasingly, children experience significant relationships with early childhood educators. The number of children attending an early childhood education and care (ECEC) service is growing in Australia, as is the amount of time each child spends in the service. This provides an opportunity to influence ECEC services and educator knowledge and skills to support positive social and emotional development and good mental health. Educators can build the ‘social and emotional capacities of infants and children by supporting predictably available, adequately sensitive and responsive care giving’ (Australian Association for Infant Mental Health and Australian Research Alliance for Children & Youth, 2013, p. 3). Educators who are consistently engaged with children and families, can also assist in preventing or mitigating the consequences of mental health problems by buffering young children from serious threats to their wellbeing (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2007).
ECEC sector reform in Australia has led to a National Quality Framework (NQF), which is the result of an agreement between state and Commonwealth governments, to improve the quality of early childhood education and care. This Framework comprises the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) (Council of Australian Government (COAG), 2009) and National Quality Standard (NQS) (Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA), 2013), and applies to most long day care, family day care, and preschools/ kindergartens in Australia. Quality in early childhood education has been shown to lead to better outcomes in learning, health and wellbeing for children.
The hidden harms of using alcohol for pain relief in older adults
- Kim-Michelle Gilson, Christina Bryant, Fiona Judd
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- Journal:
- International Psychogeriatrics / Volume 26 / Issue 11 / November 2014
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 30 July 2014, pp. 1929-1930
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- Article
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Estimates from population-based studies indicate that older adults drink more frequently than younger age groups. Data from the 2010 Australian national household survey reported that daily drinking was evident in 13.3% of older adults aged 60–69 years and in 14.8% of older adults aged 70+ years. These findings are compared to daily drinking rates reported by 10.1% of adults aged 50–59 years and 7.5% in the 40–49 years age range (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2011). The study of alcohol consumption in older adults is particularly important because of their increased sensitivity to alcohol-related harms. With age, the body's ability to process alcohol decreases as a result of physiological changes, such as decreases in body mass and higher levels of fatty tissue, leading to a higher blood alcohol concentration for a given dose compared with younger adults (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 1998). This greater vulnerability to the effects of alcohol necessitates a stronger understanding of drinking practices in older adults.