Understanding Child Development

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Headlines suggesting a "cause" for psychological challenges are reductionist and misleading.

It’s human nature to seek out certainty, causation and a "quick fix."

Adolescents deserve a holistic approach which considers biological, psychological, and environmental factors.

I’ve just read a headline suggesting that school absence causes obesity. Previous articles argue that childhood obesity is caused by poverty. Or poor parenting. Or the COVID pandemic. COVID has also been mooted as the cause of the apparent adolescent “mental health crisis,” and teen loneliness, and laziness, and “addiction” to smartphones.

Addiction to smartphones has been cited as the cause of pretty much all of society’s ills, even though smartphone addiction isn’t even a recognised diagnosis in adolescents.

I’ve been alerted to, and alarmed by, articles arguing that the “trend” in young people identifying as nonbinary or transgender is the effect of neurodivergence, or........

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