WE ALL HAVE VITAL ROLE IN ENSURING OUR CHILDREN’S RESILIENCE

We’re home to almost 600,000 Australians.

If the Gold Coast is to continue to prosper, we need it to be a place where our children flourish.

In part, that requires a diverse economy that provides the opportunities that will entice young people to stay and contribute, rather than move elsewhere to pursue their dreams. But beyond that, we need our kids to be ready for life. Not just with the education needed to get a job, but the resilience to deal with the challenges of life.

Life Education, the charity I’m privileged to lead in Queensland, has a compelling vision. It is to see generations of healthy young Australians living to their full potential.

That means empowering young people to make the choices to enrich their lives. After all, it’s the habits we form and decisions we make in our formative years that often profoundly influence our future health and happiness.

At the more extreme end, are the lives tragically lost to drugs and alcohol, or the victims of road accidents.

Then there are those who battle with addiction and mental health issues that are related to substance use. But what receives less attention are the chronic diseases that are lifestyle related.

More and more Gold Coasters risk a shortened life span, and a lesser quality of life, because of type 2 diabetes. There are also many cancers linked to alcohol misuse, cigarette smoking or poor diet.

Rather than measuring prosperity on wealth or possessions, perhaps we should put more emphasis on happiness, underscored by good mental and physical health. Without these things, we will never achieve our potential, and the Gold Coast will be the poorer for it.

This year, Life Education celebrates its 30th anniversary. Since 1987, almost 200,000 Gold Coast children have participated in our program, learning the knowledge, skills and strategies to help them make safe and healthy choices.

This year alone, about 28,000 Gold Coast young people will encounter Healthy Harold and experience the benefits of our program, as we work with many schools. But the health of our kids isn’t just the responsibility of Life Education or teachers. We all have a job to do, particularly as parents, to raise a generation of resilient children.

CEO, Life Education Queensland