For children, emotional wellbeing is related to their ability to experience, express and manage a range of emotions in ways that are healthy for their age and developmental stage. It is supported by secure relationships, and helps children to cope with everyday challenges and engage positively with the world around them.
Emotional wellbeing means that children experience a range of emotions, including sadness, frustration and worry, as part of healthy development. And when children are supported to understand and manage their emotions, it helps set them up to experience positive emotional wellbeing now and in the future.
Child mental health is one of the most common issues families have to navigate. The Commonwealth Government’s latest Australian Child and Adolescent Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing survey found that more than one in seven children aged 4 to 7 years experienced a diagnosable mental health condition in the previous 12-month period.
Children’s early years lay the groundwork for how they relate to others, regulate emotions and respond to stress throughout their life. Supporting emotional wellbeing during infancy and childhood supports healthy brain development and encourages children to thrive.
When children are supported to develop a stable emotional foundation, they are better equipped to navigate life ups and downs (e.g. school transitions, friendships and family changes). Taking prevention and early intervention measures in child mental health can reduce the likelihood of more serious difficulties emerging in adolescence and adulthood.
Investing time in your child's emotional wellbeing today builds a protective foundation that has future benefits. Research consistently shows that positive wellbeing in childhood is associated with higher academic achievement, better economic security and stronger social relationships later in life.
The quality and stability of a child's relationships with parents, carers and extended family influence their emotional development. Warm, consistent responses to a child's needs help them feel safe, valued and understood.
Secure attachment in early life supports a child's capacity to regulate emotions, build trust and explore their environment with confidence. These early relationships influence how children relate to others well into adulthood.
Schools and early learning services play a significant role in shaping how children feel about themselves and their world. Positive relationships with educators and peers contribute to their emotional wellbeing.
When children feel supported and included at school, they are more likely to engage in learning and develop healthy friendships. Educators who understand child mental health can identify early concerns and work alongside families to respond appropriately.
Connections to culture, language and community activities help children develop their identity and a feeling of belonging. A strong cultural identity along with a sense of belonging and pride can help children respond to any difficulties or discrimination they may face.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families we have worked with told us that everyday cultural practices help their wellbeing and build a strong sense of identity for themselves and their children.
Spending time in your local community can also help you and your family build your support network.
Experiences of parental illness, family separation, financial hardship, family violence or natural disasters can impact children's emotional wellbeing. But by understanding the impacts of these adversities on children’s wellbeing the behaviours they commonly demonstrate you can respond in supportive ways and recognise when to seek professional support.
Children often communicate emotions through their behaviour rather than words. You might notice increased clinginess, withdrawal from activities they used to enjoy, more frequent tantrums, or difficulty sleeping or eating.
Changes in how your child interacts with friends or siblings, such as increased aggression or avoidance of social situations, can signal that something is affecting their emotional wellbeing. Returning to outgrown behaviours, such as bedwetting, can also be a sign.
Persistent sadness, excessive worry, intense fears that get in the way of daily life or difficulty recovering from setbacks are signs worth paying attention to. If you notice your child’s feelings have become intense, last for more than a few weeks and affect multiple areas of a child's life it’s worth reaching out to your GP for advice.
Some children experience emotional distress as physical sensations, including frequent headaches, stomach aches, tiredness or complaints of feeling unwell without a clear medical cause. If your child regularly avoids school or activities due to physical complaints it may be time to have a conversation with them.
Young children who do not yet have the vocabulary to communicate what they are feeling are particularly likely to express distress in physical ways (e.g. crying, restlessness, clinginess or withdrawal). Paying attention to these patterns helps you connect the dots between physical symptoms and emotional experiences.
Mental health difficulties in children look different depending on their age. A toddler might show distress by crying more, having difficulty separating from a caregiver or in disrupted sleep patterns. A school-aged child might become withdrawn, have trouble concentrating or express hopelessness about the future.
Understanding what is typical at each developmental stage makes it easier to notice when something has shifted. Our resources for families support your understanding of children's emotions and behaviours at different ages and stages.
Emerging Minds' PERCS framework identifies five key areas families can focus on:
Each area offers practical strategies you can weave into daily family life.
Children thrive on positive connection and quality time with you and other significant adults in their life. Making time to play, chat or just hang out together reminds your child that they’re loved and that you enjoy being with them. It also creates opportunities to talk about what’s going on in their life. All these moments build your child’s sense of self-worth and knowledge that they’re likeable, which gives them the confidence to build their own relationships and friendships, and explore the world around them.
Read more about strengthening your parent–child connection.
Talking openly with your child in age-appropriate ways ensures they have the information they need to understand or ‘make meaning’ about what’s going on in their world. Talking to children honestly can help them know it’s OK to talk about the hard stuff, lessen their worries and reassure them that any family difficulties are not their fault. Leaving space for them to ask questions and get the correct information helps them feel connected to you and part of the decisions that affect them. It can also build their problem-solving skills and resilience to deal with challenges they might face in the future.
Read more tips on how to have conversations that make meaning for your children.
Predictable daily routines help children know what to expect, which helps them feel safe andcope better. Rituals around mealtimes, bedtime, school and care, play and family activities create a sense of stability, especially during times of change or uncertainty.
Routines do not need to be rigid. A flexible structure that adapts to your family's needs is what matters most. Consistent connection with you, especially after a break in contact, is the most important thing when the usual rhythms of family life are interrupted.
Read more about creating, maintaining and re-establishing routines in family life.
Depending on their age or stage of development, children may not yet fully understand, or have the language to express, their emotions, so their behaviour can be a way of exploring and communicating their feelings and needs. Understanding your child’s temperament and how they communicate emotions through behaviour will help you to support them with emotional regulation, and noticing when they might need extra support.
You can support emotional regulation by staying calm during your child's big feelings, coaching them through calming strategies and validating their experience before problem-solving.
Play, physical activity and creative expression all offer children healthy ways process their emotions. Time outdoors, movement-based play and opportunities for imaginative expression can support a child's ability to regulate emotions and feel calmer.
Feeling connected to family, friends, neighbours or your community and having a support network you can rely on can boost both your children’s mental health and wellbeing, and your own. There’s no shame in asking for help and taking time to think about who’s in your ‘village’ can help you prepare for the times when you really need it.
Children also benefit from having their own supports, and often know best which people (or places or things) in their lives provide the help or comfort they need. It's helpful to notice and encourage things they do to cope with stress or manage big emotions.
Get more tips on asking for support and helping your child build their team.
We develop resilience through our relationships, experiences and supports available. You can foster your child’s resilience by encouraging age-appropriate independence, celebrating effort as well as outcomes and helping them understand setbacks as learning opportunities. This approach helps children build a positive sense of themselves and increases their confidence and capacity to cope.
Early learning services and schools that embed social and emotional learning into every day create environments where children feel safe to learn and grow.
Wellbeing coordinators, student counsellors and pastoral care teams all play a role in identifying children who may need additional support.
School staff who are complete training in child mental health can learn to recognise early signs of difficulty and collaborate with families to respond. Emerging Minds offers free online courses for educators on topics including social and emotional wellbeing, supporting children through adversity and building family-school partnerships.
Explore Emerging Minds’ courses for educators.
Partnerships between families and early learning services or schools create positive outcomes for children. Sharing relevant information about changes at home, discussing your child's strengths and collaborating on support plans ensures a team approach to wellbeing.
If you have concerns about your child's emotional wellbeing at early learning or school, reaching out to their educator or wellbeing coordinator is a good first step. These professionals can work with you to understand what your child is experiencing and identify appropriate next steps.
School and early childhood educators often spend more waking hours with children than parents do during the week. This regular contact puts them in a unique position to notice changes in a child's behaviour, mood or engagement.
When educators have confidence in their understanding of child mental health, they can open conversations with families, make appropriate referrals and create learning environments that support all children to feel safe and included.
Your family GP (general practitioner) is often the best first point of contact when you have concerns about your child's mental health. A GP can assess your child's needs, discuss options and create a Mental Health Treatment Plan for you and/or your child. These plans give your family access to Medicare-rebated sessions with a psychologist or other mental health professional.
In addition to guiding you toward the right support for your child's specific situation, GPs are well placed to help with early concerns while you wait for an appointment with a specialist.
It’s also important to look after your own mental health. If you are feeling low or overwhelmed, your GP or the Family Relationship Advice Line (1800 050 321) can refer you to support services and/or mental health professionals to meet your needs.
Depending on your child's needs, you may be referred to a child psychologist, paediatrician, family therapist, mental health social worker or counsellor. Each brings different skills and perspectives, and your GP can help you identify the right fit for your family.
If you would like more information about different health professionals you can access our video series where we asked health professionals what they can do to support you and your family, what you can expect and how to make the most out of your visit.
Urgent support, free and confidential services are available anytime. In a crisis call 000. For immediate phone support, Lifeline is available on 13 11 14.
Emerging Minds offers free resources for families that cover topics including anxiety, bullying, supporting babies' wellbeing, parental mental illness, disasters and when to seek further support. These resources are developed in collaboration with families, health professionals and researchers to ensure they are practical, trustworthy and relevant to Australian contexts.
You can also access the Emerging Minds Families podcast for conversations with health professionals, families and people with lived experience on children's mental health and family wellbeing. The podcast offers practical insights that you can apply directly to your family life.
Cultural identity, connection to Country and community belonging are all protective factors for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children's social and emotional wellbeing.
Emerging Minds' Parenting our way resources were created with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents, families and workers to share ideas and tips for supporting children’s social and emotional wellbeing. These resources are made with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing at their centre, honouring and building on families’ strengths and skills.
For families who are already dealing with health problems, isolation, poverty or discrimination, these adversities, on top of feelings of shame and stigmatising experiences can make life even harder.
Having a better understanding of the impact of inequalities caused by the social determinants of health, and finding ways to respond, can make a difference for the children and families whose lives are shaped by them. To help spread this understanding Emerging Minds worked with families with lived experience of these impacts to develop the Getting through tough times series.
If you could use some ideas for responding to adversity, the following resources can help spark hope and provide tips.
Australia's exposure to bushfires, floods, drought and severe storms means many families face the challenge of supporting children through disaster recovery. Children's responses to disasters vary depending on their age and experiences with adversity, and can be immediate or take time to emerge.
Our disaster resources for families offer practical guidance on protecting your child's mental health during and after disaster-related disruption. These fact sheets cover common reactions, ways to talk to children about what is happening and how to support their wellbeing during recovery.
When their parent experiences mental illness, children may feel confused, worried or wonder if they are responsible. Open, age-appropriate conversations about what help their parents are receiving supports children’s understanding of any changes to their parents’ behaviour and family life while providing hope their parents’ health will improve.
Maintaining routines, supporting children's connection to their support network and ensuring they have trusted adults they can talk to are all important protective actions when parents are living with mental illness.
Supporting your child's emotional wellbeing starts with looking after your own. Parenting is challenging, and having people you can talk to, lean on and learn from makes a real difference to both your wellbeing and your child's.
Building your support network might include connecting with other parents, speaking with a trusted friend or family member, joining a local community group or accessing support through your GP or a counselling service.
We know that when families are well supported, children thrive. The resources available on the Emerging Minds website can guide you toward practical next steps for both you and your child.
Your child's emotional wellbeing is shaped by many interconnected factors, and influenced by their relationships; home, school and neighbourhood environments; and the broader societal and economic context they live in. By building a strong parent–child relationship, helping them regulate emotions and make meaning, establishing routines, communicating and connecting regularly, and securing their supports, you can nurture your child's mental health at every stage of their development.
You do not need to do everything all at once. Start with one small change, such as setting aside time each day for connection, asking your child how they feel or exploring the our free resources, to set you and your family up for positive mental health and wellbeing, now and in the future.
Changes in behaviour, mood or daily functioning are common early indicators. You might notice withdrawal from friends, frequent emotional outbursts beyond what is typical for their age, sleep changes or loss of interest in play. Emerging Minds offers free fact sheets to help you understand what to look for at each developmental stage.
Free fact sheets on understanding child development.
From conception. A child's mental health begins developing before they're born, and is shaped in all their interactions and with their caregivers. Infants develop emotionally through their interactions with nurturing adults. Responding warmly, playing and talking with your baby from the earliest days builds the foundation for lifelong emotional health. Emerging Minds has resources specifically designed for families supporting babies' and toddlers' wellbeing.
Free fact sheets on supporting your baby’s wellbeing.
Free resources on supporting toddler wellbeing.
Start by naming emotions together and showing curiosity about their experiences. Use everyday moments, such as reading a story or watching a show, to discuss how characters might feel. Emerging Minds' family resources include practical strategies for opening up conversations about emotions with children of all ages.
Free fact sheet on how to talk to your child.
Consider professional support when your child's difficulties are intense, persistent (lasting more than a few weeks) and affecting multiple areas of their life, such as friendships, school or home routines. Your GP can help assess the situation and connect you with appropriate services under a Mental Health Treatment Plan.
Listen to A GPs role in supporting the family to learn more.
Yes. We offer a range of free, evidence-based resources developed specifically for families living in Australia, covering topics from anxiety to disasters. You can browse fact sheets, watch animations, listen to podcasts and access practical guides on the Emerging Minds Families page at no cost.