News & Media

July 2018

Principal Psychologist and Director of Internet Addiction Clinic

@ Kidspace Mr Brad Marshall on ABC 7.30 Report

The psychologist: ‘It’s worse than other games’

Brad Marshall runs the Internet Addiction Clinic at Kidspace in Sydney and says most of the children he sees are playing Fortnite.

“Some kids are struggling to get to sleep, that means going to bed at 2 or 3 in the morning, for other kids it’ll be falling behind in homework, or not handing in assignments.

Mr Marshall says Fortnite is more addictive than other gaming fads before it because of its easy availability.

He runs popular seminars for parents on how to wean children off the game.

These are his three top tips:

Set reasonable boundaries around internet usage
Emphasise things like homework and sport before going on the internet
Sleep. Turn off the internet or unplug the modem at night

Watch the full story online here:

Watch online

March 2018

What you can do if your child is addicted to their screens

Parents welcome technology devices in the home as helpful tools – who doesn’t want a homework assistant, a boredom killer, or a digital babysitter?

But without parameters, technology is like the unpleasant house guest who overstays their welcome, while eating everything in the fridge.

Research suggests the average child spends more than six hours on screens each day.

Health experts say excessive amounts of time spent on smart phones and tablets can be addictive and affect childhood development.

So how do parents help reform their children’s technology habits?

Health experts say excessive amounts of time spent in front of screens can affect childhood development.

Source: Sunday Night

Brad Marshall from Kidspace, an internet addiction clinic based in Sydney, has witnessed the damage screen

addiction can have on Australian families first hand.

He told Sunday Night about a simple sign that parents can look out for to see if their child is addicted.

“If your child is using one of these apps or games to the exclusion of wanting to go outside, or to the exclusion of wanting to go to a party or going to sport or going to bed, then you have got an issue on your hand,” Mr Marshall said.

However, Mr Marshall firmly believes the addiction can be treated with specialised therapy.

“The therapy has three main phases. The first phase is interacting and trying to build rapport with the child and the family. It’s very important to try to understand what the teenager is doing online.”

Brad Marshall from Kidspace, an internet addiction clinic based in Sydney, has witnessed the damage screen addiction can have on Australian families. Source: Sunday Night

“In the second phase, we are looking at a treatment phase where essentially we’re trying to increase communication in the family. We put in place a behaviour management plan or an internet usage plan.

“The third phase is when we look to back off so I step away a bit, hoping that the parents will step in and problem solve a bit better in future.”

And the specialised therapy seems to be working well. Brad said: “Roughly speaking about 60% of families or children we have treated show significant improvement over time. There is about 20% that show what we would call mild to moderate improvements.”

Research suggests the average child spends more than six hours on screens each day.

Screen addiction is not just brand-new territory for parents but for Australian addiction specialists too.

“We do the best with what we have got and at the moment the research is quite lacking and we are scrambling a little bit to try and keep up.

“As technology evolves we don’t really know how that is going to impact on children and teenagers and families and I think it’s a giant game of catch up for us because every time there is a new development in technology, it’s a new barrier for us to try and help families.”

To read the full Sunday Night Interview click the box below:

Sunday Night interview with Mr Brad Marshall

March 2017

Kidspace Principal Psychologist Mr Brad Marshall providing some expert advice to the readers of the Daily Telegraph.

Are you concerned about your toddlers reaction when you take away that precious tablet?

Read the article, Toddler tantrums: Parents seek addiction experts’ advice about children’s use of tablets and devices

April 2016

Exploring Teens: Q&A Parent Forum

Northshore Kidspace Principal Child Psychologist Mr Brad Marshall was recently invited to present at the “Exploring Teens Q&A Parent Forum” on the topic of Problematic Internet Use, more commonly referred to as ‘Internet Addiction’. The forum explored the question “Is this normal teenage behaviour?”. Northshore Kidspace would like to thank the staff of the Exploring Teens Magazine for extending Brad Marshall a warm welcome to this groundbreaking event supporting parents.

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November 2015

Internet Addiction: A Slow Road to Disconnected Children

Northshore Kidspace Principal Child Psychologist Mr Brad Marshall was recently invited by The King’s School in Sydney to speak on the topic of Problematic Internet Use, more commonly referred to as ‘Internet Addiction’. Northshore Kidspace would like to thank The King’s School staff and parents for extending Brad Marshall a warm welcome to one of Sydney most prestigious schools.

October 2015

Internet Addiction: A Slow Road to Disconnected Children

Northshore Kidspace Child Principal Psychologist Mr Brad Marshall was recently invited by Marist College North Shore to speak on the topic of Problematic Internet Use, more commonly referred to as ‘Internet Addiction’.

Brad explored Internet overuse versus ‘addiction’, the reasons why boys may overuse technology, and its impacts on emotional, social, and educational development, as well as impacts on behaviour and health.

Importantly, Brad offered some tips from his work with adolescents:

Understand your son’s online activities and why he uses them. Try not to make judgmental statements.
Negotiate a reasonable amount of time for online activities.
Come to a very clear and objective agreement, with access as a reward rather than a right.
Make the agreement so it can be reasonably reinforced within the family.
Be realistic. Don’t take away all access; just enough so that educational, social and sporting commitments come first. If the agreement is broken, remove access for no more than 24 hours.
The modem is the key to negotiation, rather than removing all devices.

Northshore Kidspace would like to thank Marist College North Shore for their support and taking the initiative in providing a forum for parents where they can feel comfortable talking about these critical issues in adolescent development.

1 August 2015

Hot off the press: managing self-harm in adolescents

Three Kidspace clinicians – Damian Fong, Brad Marshall and Garry Walter – were recently invited by Medical Observer, a leading Australian medical journal, to contribute an article on self-harm in adolescents. At Kidpsace, we not uncommonly see young people in whom self-harm is a new or ongoing problem. The article in Medical Observer highlights that self-harm can occur for a variety of reasons. “Careful clinical evaluation is always important,” suggested Dr Fong, “Self-harm can occur in young people with depression, anxiety, drug and alcohol problems, psychosis or other problems, and recognition and treatment of these problems can go a long way towards eliminating the self-harm.” The article includes several practical strategies for adolescents themselves who wish to stop engaging in this behaviour.

28 April 2015

Inspirational new book on depression in young people

At Kidspace, we regularly assess and treat children and adolescents with depression, an increasingly common problem in the community. A new book on depression in young people by Adam Schwartz, challengingly titled, “Mum, I wish I was dead”, has just been released. Launched by Kidspace psychiatrist, Professor Garry Walter AM, before an audience of over 200 people, Professor Walter suggested that the book was both pioneering and a welcome arrival. “Published accounts by young people are rare,” Professor Walter commented. “Adam has been courageous to movingly document his battle with depression in childhood and adolescence, which included a range of treatments inside and out of hospital. Perhaps most importantly, the book demonstrates that with appropriate treatment and support, even severe depression can be overcome. It thus offers well-founded hope for young sufferers and families.”

Details about Adam and the book may be found at http://adamschwartz.com.au

At the recent book launch (L-R): MC Larry Emdur, Kidspace psychiatrist Professor Garry Walter AM and author Adam Schwartz