Health and Well-Being Contexts

Understanding the contexts

Children affected by mental illness, trauma, grief, or abuse in their parent(s) and children living with a parent who has mental illness or substance use are examples of those who fall under the umbrella of health and wellbeing contexts. The Australian research estimates that up to 1 in 4 children are growing up with a mental illness in their parents home, which is more than 1 million children across Australia. (COPMI, 2024) The most prevalent type of substantiated child maltreatment in Australia in 2023-24 was emotional abuse, which was recorded as the type of maltreatment for 57% of the 42,100 children substantiated during the period (AIHW, 2025b). Often these contexts intersect: mental illness, substance use and family stress are rarely experienced alone, and can exacerbate each other. Modern Australian research often views these experiences in a different light - one of adversity and resilience, and not one of deficit- because most children can still thrive, with timely, appropriate support.

Impact on Children and Families

Crisis events are important chronosystems disruptions in the Bronfenbrenner model, which involve sudden, unexpected disruptions in a child's microsystem (home, safety, routines) and often cut off mesosystems (school, friends and community). Studies indicate that between 5% and 43% of children who have experienced a disaster can have symptoms of P.T.S.D along with heightened anxiety, sleep disturbance, and regression in development (Emerging Minds, 2024b). With this in mind, the importance of children's safety needs being restored before they can play, explore or learn are highlighted by Maslow's (1943) hierarchy. Disruption to education is also associated with climate disasters; an estimated 28,200 fewer Australian children complete school each year, as a result of climate disaster exposure (UNICEF Australia, 2024). The Bowlby (1969) model of attachment states that the child's normal attachment to a place of security and safety is replaced, and that this is a great threat to the child's sense of security. The Australian context was explored in a national study of Australian child exposure to family and domestic violence (FDOV) by Mathews et al., (2023), which identified a near-to-half of all Australians (39%) who had been exposed to FDOV in childhood, noting that it was not an isolated problem, but rather a national crisis context.

Social Policy and Australian Responses

The National Workforce Centre for Child Mental Health (NWC-CMH) is funded by the Australian Government. Emerging Minds will provide leadership for the National Workforce Centre for Child Mental Health (NWC-CMH) to support the capacity development of the early childhood, health and community workforce to identify and respond to children impacted by parental mental illness (COPMI, 2024). Beyond Blue provides support to the national mental health and wellbeing framework for early childhood services and schools, Be You, for educators to contribute to wellbeing and respond to trauma. Safe and Supported: The National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children 2021–2031 outlines the national child-protection response to child abuse and neglect, while the National Quality Standard outlines the need for services to have effective child-protection policies and mandatory-reporting processes. Family Drug Support Australia and PANDA (Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia) have government- and community-funded substance use and perinatal mental illness (PMI) specific responses.

Resources for Educators and Children

Videos, Shows and Podcasts

Critical Reflection

Up to one in four children lives with a parent with mental health issues that are not visible to the world due to stigma and fear of reporting (COPMI, 2024). Teachers and professionals must engage in legal reporting while at the same time protecting families from harm, allowing them to report it.