Dr. Valerie Michaelson, and the Childhealth 2.0 research team (see their website), presented their Youth Engagement project documentary video on Overprotection and Safe Risk at the Tett Centre in Kingston, Ontario on Sunday, February 21st, 2016. This research is profiled in the Kingston Whig Standard, the Queen’s Gazette and the Toronto Star, and the video is available.
Dr. Michaelson often gets asked how a Religious Studies scholar ended up doing Child Health research, and to her it happened quite organically. Caring for the wellbeing and protection of children is rooted in the spiritual vision and teachings of all religious traditions. Throughout history and across cultures, we see a tangled mess of the many times it’s gone wrong. But at their best, all the world’s religions hold a vision of children thriving in their physical, emotional, relational and spiritual lives. Researching religion, childhood and child health together just makes a lot of sense.
The video “Overprotection” features children from Kingston, Ontario, who work closely with Dr. Michaelson’s research team.