When you hear the word ‘teenager’ do you imagine someone closed up in their room obsessed with their phone, text messages and social media? Or is it someone trying to balance work, school, health/stress, volunteering and family relationships? Recent research has proven the latter: the vast majority of teens care deeply about others and are involved in their communities. At the same time, many are facing very adult issues such as debt, finding affordable housing, stress and hypertension.

A study released Oct. 26 by UVic and Island Health shines a unique spotlight on a generation of young people in Greater Victoria. No other research study in Canada has followed a full decade of observation of youth from one distinct region and varied socio-economic backgrounds.

A quirky mix of student programmers. Dr. Jim Tanaka, the research psychologist who leads them. And the app software they designed that could change the face of autism therapy.

Children around the world stand to benefit from a new monitoring and reporting platform being developed by UVic to improve Canada’s and other countries’ ability to comply with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Letter from the Childcare Parenting Alliance and letter from Campus Services, in response to the Child care to expand full-time care notice.

UVic Child Care Services is embarking on a major renovation project that will add 40 full-time care spaces for 3 to 5-year-old children. In April, university executive approved funding for the $1.685 million facility upgrade.

The UVic-led victimization prevention program for children—Walk away, Ignore, Talk it out, Seek help (WITS)—received top marks earlier this month from Dalhousie University researchers, taking first place when compared to six other international bullying prevention programs. More than 600 schools across Canada have used the program.

The UVic-led victimization prevention program for children—Walk away, Ignore, Talk it out, Seek help (WITS)—received top marks earlier this month from Dalhousie University researchers, taking first place when compared to six other international bullying prevention programs. More than 600 schools across Canada have used the program.

The newly released Let’s Face It 2.0, a scrapbook app developed by the University of Victoria’s Centre for Autism Research Technology Education (CARTE) and now available free on iTunes, is a powerful educational tool for learning faces and recognizing emotions of the important people in the lives of children on the autism spectrum. “It is a selfie culture and I hope our app will be adopted by anyone who finds it useful,” says CARTE director and UVic psychology professor Jim Tanaka. “Parents and educators can create their own storybook from people and objects in their children’s lives.”

The newly released Let’s Face It 2.0, a scrapbook app developed by the University of Victoria’s Centre for Autism Research Technology Education (CARTE) and now available free on iTunes, is a powerful educational tool for learning faces and recognizi…

An academic leader in global child health and human rights research, who is developing a child rights global monitoring platform that will be tested in New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories and BC, has joined UVic as a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar. Dr. Ziba Vaghri, of the School of Public Health and Social Policy, has more than 15 years of extensive research, international experience, significant awards, and a global network of researchers and practitioners all set on creating a seamless UN-endorsed, rights-based system to measure global child health and development.  Vaghri’s current work plan could position BC and Canada as leaders in global child health and human rights research. For the past eight years, Vaghri worked with a team of experts serving the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN-CRC). They developed a monitoring tool for children younger than nine and led pilot tests in Tanzania, Chile, and will soon do the same in Canada.

Most children receive their first sexual information from a source other than their parents or teachers. The main source: the Internet. As children become tethered to electronic devices at a younger and younger age, parents need to have “the talk” earlier and earlier, says Jillian Roberts, child psychologist and associate professor of educational psychology at the University of Victoria. Roberts wanted to write a book to help parents and educators begin conversations with young children in a way that is respectful and culturally sensitive, before they see too much online.

Most children receive their first sexual information from a source other than their parents or teachers. The main source: the internet. As children become tethered to electronic devices at a younger and younger age, parents need to have “the talk” e…

Parents who haven’t broken their teenagers of their late-to-bed, late-to-rise rhythms, or who haven’t yanked their kids out of a too-too-much-YouTube summer by enforcing book reading or times-tables reviews may feel like they’ve missed the boat on b…

Brittney Sharma’s vision—an outdoor program to help children who had experienced family trauma—generated lots of buzz this year after being chosen as a showcase idea for the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGIU) conference. Sharma graduates this month with a bachelor’s in anthropology, and says her time at UVic was filled with academics and club activities, as well as developing her vision to help children of battered women.

The objects look simple. Hand-sized swatches of organza. Coloured paper. A star-shaped hole punch. A blanket and rolled socks. But the meaning they hold can be transformative. The educational kit of supplies and a colourful booklet of activities uses M&e#180;tis history to engage young children in physical activities, literacy and art, helping build cultural awareness as well as healthy lifelong habits.