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Tuesday: Newsy Snacks For Busy People

Written by
June 12, 2012
Be Smart, News & Views
11 Comments

Vitamin D:  A symposium in Melbourne today will discuss the faltering Vitamin D levels of many Australians, and whether it’s a good idea to fortify foods (like milk and butter) to boost our Nation’s health and wellbeing. Vitamin D levels are lowest in those in the southern states, reports News.com.au and while it can be found in eggs, fish and margarine, it’s looking like we might follow Canada’s example and think about Vitamin D fortified milk, too.  Read on here.

Nicole Kidman: Our Nic has spent time manning the phones at the Sydney Children’s Hospital Telethon, as well as donating $100 000 to the cause. Noice. We like. And she didn’t even do a cheesy dance. More here!

Facebook Trolls: A ground-breaking case in the UK has seen a court order Facebook to provide the details of those who trolled an English mum.  When Nicola Brooke’s sent a message of support to an ousted X-Factor contestant “Keep your chin up, Frankie, they’ll move on to someone else soon” : she received hundreds of abusive messages to her own personal Facebook account. When police fobbed off Brooke’s complaints about the incident, she took the case as far as the High Court and has WON. Good for her. She says she’s now going to use the details provided by Facebook to take legal action against her abusers. I think this sets an amazing precedent and perhaps those nasty internet trolls might cease and desist?  More here.

Child Mental Health Checks: The Australian Government imposed (voluntary) Healthy Kids Check which will screen children as young as three years old for early signs of mental illness is not a good idea, according to highly regarded US psychiatrist, Dr Allan Frances.  The scheme is backed by the AMA (Australian Medical Association), but Dr Frances is concerned about ‘medicalizing normalcy’ and labelling kids. ‘There can be lots of unintended negative consequences to labelling children who essentially are normal and will grow out of whatever problem they have at that moment.’ Hm. As a mother of three, I’m not convinced this is a good idea either. What do you think?  Read more here.

Pinterest Pin Of The Day : Click To Repin

Also:
Apparently Dannii and Kris are back togeths. Totes.
Ben Affleck took his girls to Fashion Camp. What is that?!
Marc Jacobs out with his boyfriend and his ex too. Good for them.
Breakfast Pie at Village Voices
Here’s one for the bloggers. How to compile a Media Kit.
Cooking with parchment paper (via Joy The Baker)

And here’s our Clip of the Day (via Poppytalk)

Top Image via News.com.au

  • http://www.theveggiemama.com Veggie Mama

    Ooh thank you for the fb thing! It’s an excellent article for my students. Hope you’re feeling better xx

  • hugoandelsa

    Have you seen this cute video dedicated to trolls?

    • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Pip @ JustB

      I love that!!! x

  • eileen

    as a mother of son with severe mental illness which was apparent from a very young age,I have mixed feelings on the diagnosing of mental health at an early age.If my son had been diagnosed and treated at an early age and treated,it would have a signifignance difference in the advancement of his illness.However it is getting the diagnosis right and treated appropriately that is the key in good mental health.Quality treatment is hard enough in adults let alone children.So many children are being treated with meds for adhd yet many have been misdiagnosed and have bipolar which the meds they are on excellerate the illness.It is a dilemma for which I would tread warily.

    • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Pip @ JustB

      Thanks so much for sharing your experience, Eileen. This issue is fraught, really. I am not qualified or learned enough to come to a proper conclusion… but for me it doesn’t feel right. Having said that, I may feel differently if I had a child with a mental illness. Thanks again for your comment, I appreciate you taking the time to help us understand this issue more deeply. x

  • C

    Trolls days numbered and deservedly so.
    Child mental health checks, I am with Eileen, am v wary. Support for mamas first and foremost.
    Marc Jacobs and co…ooh la la , fine specimens, even thou a tad over manicured

    • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Pip @ JustB

      I am so happy about the trolls. Finally REAL LIFE manners come to ONLINE LIFE! x

  • Angela

    The article about the mental health checks for kids is really interesting. I have suffered with mental health issues for much of my adult life and looking back I can certainly see there were early signs that something wasn’t right throughout much of my teens (though certainly not when I was as young as three). I can’t help but wonder how my experience may have differed had things been picked up earlier and if I’d had an opportunity to learn healthier thinking patterns at a younger age. It kind of makes me sad thinking about it. However, I do share your concern (and the concerns of Dr Allan Frances). I have also experienced the mis-use of labels relating to my mental health which caused way more harm than good. The careless use of labels and mis-diagnosis carries real risks that come with very real consequences. I don’t know what the answer is, particularly given the breadth of different types of mental illnesses, but I think this is an important conversation to be having.

    • eileen

      I agree,my son was suicidal at 8 and was told that he may one day develop bipolar disorder, but drs were scared to label him.I have since learnt that he was born with mental health issues.With early intervention with the introduction of cognitive therapy the brain can be retrained.Thus delaying the progression of the illness.My son has both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. I also have mental health issues that presented symptoms in childhood.I just do not think that there is enough educated professionals to screen large groups of children.The illness is too subjective and complex for a one stop shop,screening.

      • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Pip @ JustB

        I felt a bit stupid for offering my opinion on this, because my experience is so limited. So thank YOU for filling in some very important gaps and sharing your thoughts and experiences with our readers, Eileen. xx

    • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Pip @ JustB

      This has been my favourite Newsy Snacks in a long time, because I’m learning a lot about families’ experiences of mental health issues in children. Thanks for your comment. It’s helped me to be MUCH better informed. (And I’m sure lots of other people who read this feel the same) xx Pip