Narratives are a powerful tool for transferring knowledge and culture. They have a profound effect on our psyche and our attitudes to messages and teachings. The transfer of information through traditional teaching and lectures is often less effective in changing a belief or understanding than using narrative. In this discussion paper, I explore this phenomenon and examine the persuasive effect of cultural narratives. The discussion also considers the impacts of cultural narrative as an educative tool on parental attitudes towards childhood immunisation. I explore the changing nature of the way parents with young children communicate and seek information and early childhood educators’ roles in their lives within the Australian context. Understanding the way humans are drawn to narrative may be beneficial to health workers, early childhood educators, family workers and those who plan health education programmes. To effectively target their messages, it would be of benefit to public health officials to have knowledge about how parents with young children inform themselves and develop health beliefs, and the extent to which parents’ ideas become fixed.

A growing body of literature indicates that corporal punishment (CP) has the potential to adversely affect the mental and physical wellbeing of children in childhood as well as into adulthood. Corporal punishment of children in the home is legal in all states and territories in Australia, but not much is known about this type of family violence in the Australian context. This article presents a review of the literature currently available on the prevalence of CP of children in the home in Australia, covering online surveys, academic research, government data and grey literature. The role of online surveys is examined, and the lack of data available from government studies concerned with the wellbeing of children is also explored. There is found to be an overall lack of consistent data available on CP of children in the home in Australia, and this article calls on researchers and policymakers to further research and act on this aspect of family violence.

The murder of a child’s mother in the context of domestic violence is a traumatic experience which results in multiple stresses affecting the child’s emotional, behavioural and educational functioning. In effect, children lose both parents – their mother as victim and their father in jail or also dead from a murder-suicide – as well as their home, neighbourhood and school as they are relocated, either with extended family members or placed into foster care. In addition, extended family members must cope with their own grief and anger as they attempt to parent these troubled children. Evidence from the papers reviewed indicate that there are no guidelines for determining who is best placed for caring for the children and for providing the safety and stability necessary for recovery, nor for ensuring the provision of therapeutic support for child survivors and their families. There is also evidence to indicate that, left untreated, effects can become long-lasting and carry on into adulthood. Policy implications are considered with a focus on multi-agency family-centred advocacy approaches.

In this article, an evaluation of the Journey to the Island of Calm programme in three sites in Queensland is presented. The evaluation examines the change in children’s sense of agency and capacity to manage their social and emotional well-being. Using a mixed method approach, the findings confirm that the Journey to the Island of Calm programme has accrued positive gains for children in their self-regulation and self-understanding. The findings are useful in developing intervention and learning programmes for children between 9 and 12 years of age in order to promote their sense of agency, capacity for self-regulation and self-independence, and contribute to children’s social and emotional development and skills from very early on in life.

This research investigates the self-reported perceptions, readiness and psychological wellbeing of 15 male primary school students prior to transitioning to a secondary boarding school (S1) located away from home and family. A mixed-methods approach was used (i.e., online questionnaire and focus group), and findings indicate that while participants were apprehensive about expectations, study and encountering new technology at boarding school, all viewed the impending transition to S1 as a positive opportunity in their educational journey. Participants reported academic motivation and self-regulation above the norm; however, both questionnaire and focus group data indicated their academic self-perception was low. Levels of reported psychological distress were low, with symptoms associated with emotional problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity, peer problems, prosocial behaviour and overall total difficulties all found to be within the normal range. Indicators of life satisfaction and protective factors associated with resilience were similarly found to be within the normal range. Four major themes and eight subthemes emerged from the qualitative data, including: (1) enthusiasm (i.e., confidence, sadness); (2) opportunity (i.e., new experiences and choices, friendships); (3) anchor points (i.e., older siblings, orientation); and (4) expectations (i.e., study, technology). The findings of this study add to the literature encouraging staff in boarding schools to view transition through the lens of the early to mid-adolescence developmental period and the emergence of co-occurring innate psychological needs – in particular, the desire for competence, autonomy and relatedness. Strengths and limitations of this study are presented.

Child protection work is a complex and difficult area of practice, one that is closely scrutinised and criticised, and impacts on the lives of many children. In Australia, child protection systems are overloaded, and increasing numbers of children and families receive child protection interventions each year. This study explored the views of North Queensland practitioners who work in the child protection field, examining changes and challenges in this field of practice, and their suggestions for the future research that is needed in child protection. The study took place 5 years after the 2013 Queensland Carmody inquiry into child protection intervention, which recommended sweeping changes to the child protection system. Twenty-two practitioners participated in this study. Respondents reported an increase in the complexity of cases, a gap in legislation change/practice frameworks and practice, and the application of trauma-informed practice. They highlighted the intersection of child protection, domestic violence and family law and observed that women and children continue to be exposed to violence because of Family Law Court orders. Respondents identified a number of areas where research is needed.

The service user experience of children, their families and other stakeholders in a therapeutic program should inform quality of care, practice and organisation of services. Children referred to Take Two are clients of Child Protection for whom abuse and neglect have been substantiated. This paper aims to describe the development of the Take Two Stakeholder Survey, as well as to examine the reliability and factorial structure of the survey. In addition, the experience of consumers utilising the service will be described together with recommendations for clinical practice improvements and enhanced consumer engagement.