Health and Wellbeing Contexts

Contexts related to health and well-being include mental illness of parents, substance abuse and other situations that could affect children. This chapter will focus on two family scenarios, where one of the parents has mental- health challenges and where there are cases of trauma, grief or abuse in families or children.

It can be stated that mental health of children is shaped by their relationships and social environment, and not just their individual characteristics (Lawrence et al., 2022). Ecological theory makes it possible for educational specialists to learn how systems are interconnected and provide children with opportunities for a better health (Grace et al., 2022). This underlines the importance of interpretation of the behaviors of children in a broader context.

A viewpoint from family-systems theory is useful since the wellbeing of any member in the family can affect their relationships, everyday activities and emotional reactions within the family unit. Despite this, mental health problems experienced by parents do not always lead to unfavourable results for children. The consequences for the children of parents suffering from mental disorders depend greatly on the level of severity and duration of a parent’s mental illness, supportive family bonds, and the ability to seek help from specialists or the community. Therefore, it is important to use a framework of strength-based approach when speaking about mental illness in families as this will help to avoid labelling a family and acknowledge its potential.

The modern data about families in Australia show that there are differences in families according to the type of family. For instance, ABS statistics show that 32.6% of people from one-parent families with children under 18 years old experienced a mental disorder during a year, whereas this number was only 19.4% for couples with children under the age of 18 (ABS, 2023).

 

 

Impact on Children and Families

Parental mental-health difficulties can affect family routines, emotional availability, finances and community participation. Trauma and maltreatment may influence children’s emotional regulation, attachment, concentration, sleep, behaviour and sense of safety. Children may express distress through withdrawal, aggression, regression or increased dependence on adults. However, child maltreatment is influenced by interacting risk and protective factors across child, family, community and societal levels, and risk does not mean abuse will occur (AIFS, 2025). Therefore, resilience is important. Stable relationships, responsive adults, social support and opportunities for agency can strengthen children’s wellbeing and ability to cope with adversity (Beardslee et al., 2019).

Social Policy and Australian Responses

Medicare Mental Health Kids Hubs is part of Australia’s reforms in mental health as it helps children from ages 0 to 12 receive free early assistance together with their families if they have issues or changes in development, behaviour or emotions (Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, 2026). ECEC is also guided by child protection legislation and mandatory reporting. In particular, in the state of Victoria, Child Safe Standards facilitate safe conditions for children through educational leaders, engagement of parents, training of staff and safe practices in the organization while worker in ECEC need to undergo mandatory training on child protection (Victorian Government, 2026). Thus, these policies facilitate the ability to recognize problems, properly document facts and observations, follow reporting procedures, refer to appropriate authorities and people but they do not authorize to diagnose and investigate against their background.

Resources 

Five Evidence-Based Strategies

  1. Use practices that are trauma-informed - Utilize methods that enable safety, peace, capabilities, and emotional linkages. Trauma-informed practices include measures for safety and avoiding practices that may cause unnecessary suffering (AIFS, 2025).
  1. Enhance emotional literacy - Teachers should employ illustrated storybooks, emotion cards, mirrors, puppets, and conversations to help children understand and name emotions.
  1. Emphasize co-regulation - Often, young children need to be regulated by calm and attentive adults first before they can regulate themselves (Lawrence et al., 2022).
  1. Apply methods of positive communication with families - Educators have to pay attention to the description of behavior rather than judging parents and children. Family-centered communication takes into account the parents' perspective and promotes the process of mutual decision making (Raising Children Network, 2024).
  1. Make references to different professional fields - When any issues lie beyond the teacher's powers, the organizations involved should refer to general practitioners, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and child protection experts (Baker et al., 2022).

Community and Professional Partnerships

  1. Be You – Supports educator mental-health literacy and mentally healthy learning communities.
    https://beyou.edu.au/
  2. Emerging Minds – Provides infant and child mental-health professional resources.
    https://emergingminds.com.au/
  3. Medicare Mental Health Kids Hubs – Provide early mental-health and wellbeing support for children and families.
    https://www.medicarementalhealth.gov.au/
  4. Maternal and Child Health Services/GPs – Can assess development and family wellbeing and facilitate referrals.
  5. Child psychologists, social workers and child-protection practitioners – Provide specialised therapeutic, family-support or safety interventions where required.

Resources Four Programs/Websites

Be You – Australia's national mental health and wellbeing initiative for learning communities. It provides free, evidence-informed tools, resources and professional learning to help educators create inclusive, connected and mentally healthy early learning environments (Be You, n.d.).

https://beyou.edu.au/

Emerging Minds – Evidence-informed child and family mental-health resources.
https://emergingminds.com.au/

Raising Children Network – Accessible evidence-informed resources on emotions, behaviour and family wellbeing.
https://raisingchildren.net.au/

Child Family Community Australia (AIFS) – Provides evidence-based trauma-informed practice resources that can strengthen educators' understanding of adversity, family wellbeing and appropriate professional responses (AIFS, 2025).
https://aifs.gov.au/resources/practice-guides/trauma-informed-practice-family-mental-health-support-services

Four Storybooks

The Colour Monster – Anna Llenas
Supports young children to identify and organise emotional experiences.

Ruby's Worry – Tom Percival
Shows that worries can grow when they remain unspoken and encourages communication with trusted people.

The Invisible String – Patrice Karst
Can support children coping with separation, anxiety or loss.

The Memory Tree – Britta Teckentrup
Provides a gentle basis for conversations about death, grief, memories and continuing emotional connections.

Four Videos/Shows/Media

Daniel Tiger's Neighbourhood – Models emotional regulation, communication and coping strategies.

Play School – Feelings and wellbeing episodes can build emotional vocabulary.

Sesame Street in Communities – Provides materials addressing emotions, trauma and family challenges.
https://sesameworkshop.org/resources/

Bluey – Selected episodes provide accessible prompts for discussing feelings, relationships, empathy and family experiences.

 

 

 

 

Exploring Big Feelings – Sesame Workshop - Helps young children recognise and express difficult emotions, supporting emotional wellbeing and resilience.