Girton Student Wellbeing

Insights: Resource Roundup Term 1 2024

ReachOut

eSafety Commissioner

Support for Australian families

Following the distressing events of the last several days, young people might be struggling to come to terms with what they have read and seen online.

Online spaces should be safe for everyone. If your child sees violent or distressing material, it is important to check in and talk to them about the content they have seen. We also recommend that children use devices in open areas of the home, rather than in their bedroom, so you can be attuned to how they are coping and what they are reading or watching.

Tips on how to deal with violent and distressing content

Don't share it further – even if your intention is to help or raise awareness, you may cause distress to others.
Report it to the platform to help get the material removed quickly.
If the material is not removed, you can report it to eSafety. eSafety can notify the platform to either remove the content or block access from within Australia. Your actions could protect you and others from seeing that content again.

You can find more guidance and information about distressing online content below.

Relevant resources

We understand as a parent or carer you may want to take extra precautions against your children seeing disturbing content online. eSafety has a range of helpful resources including:

For kids and young people

I saw something online I didn't like (for primary-school aged children)
Dealing with disturbing content (for teenagers)

For parents and carers

Support services

If your child, or someone you know, has come across disturbing content online, there are a range of counselling services you can reach out to for help and support.

If a life is in danger call Triple Zero (000) right now.   

Kids Helpline, for 5–25-year-olds: 1800 55 1800 or kidshelpline.com.au (webchat is also available).  
headspace: support for young people, professionals, educators and families   
Lifeline: 13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au  
Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636 or beyondblue.org.au

More support services, including state-based services aimed at parents and carers, are listed here.

We hope the information above has been useful, and that it provides some practical support for Australian families as we collectively process these tragic events.

The Parents Website

Bullying, whether in school, online, or among friends, can deeply affect your child's well-being. Here, Dr Deborah Trengove explores the types of bullying your child might encounter, and equips you with practical strategies to identify and address them.

Youth Vaping Prevention Project

Happy Families: Family Meeting

FAMILY MEETING #1 2024

Hello, and welcome to our first family meeting of 2024!

It's April already, and we're just getting back into the groove of things. (Family life, am I right?) We'll share why we've been AWOL in our "What's Working" segment.

How are your own family meetings going? (I hope you're not relying too heavily on us to set the example!) Drawing from years of personal and professional experience, I've seen how this simple framework can transform family dynamics for the better.

All it takes is a weekly family chat based on these three ideas:

What's going well for us as a family right now?
What's challenging us?
What's on the horizon? Who needs support? What should we focus on improving?

And it's always nice to wrap up with some family fun or a tasty treat!

I hope 2024 is humming along nicely for you and your family. The Happy Families Team and I are looking forward to bringing you some great resources this year to lighten your load and help you find more joy in family life.

All the very best,

Dr Justin Coulson

& the Happy Families team

WHAT'S WORKING

Our Brand New Website!

Towards the end of last year, the Happy Families Team made a bold decision: we took on the challenge of developing our new platform in-house. This shift meant that some of our other projects had to temporarily step back, but the results have been worth it!

As Dr Justin always says, "We can do hard things!". We're so relieved to have been able to prove him right! Our freshly launched website is now live and running smoothly. We're thrilled with it, and we hope you feel the same!

Websites are always evolving, but we're already witnessing promising outcomes. Our user experience is better than ever, and with full control over the platform, we can continuously work to enhance it.

If you haven't explored the new site yet, check it out now!

(Please note that if you have an existing account, you'll need to reset your password here to sign in.)

WHAT'S NOT WORKING

Losing Emotional Spectrum

Our boys are born with all of the colours in their emotional ‘pencil box’. As they grow, our culture often ‘pushes out’ these vibrant colours. Social expectations, biases based on gender, peer pressure, and family dynamics are just some of the major obstacles that prevent boys from remaining authentic to their emotional selves. Consequently, by adulthood, their ‘emotional palette’ is often limited.

At Happy Families, one of our goals is to give you tools to restore those ‘lost hues’ so that your boy can show up and flourish in all of the contexts of life.

We're going to tackle the challenge with the help of Drew Hanger and Matt Tyler from The Man Box at the Breaking Point Digital Conference next week. We hope you'll join us!

FAMILY CALENDAR

Thurs 11 April	Q&A with Dr Justin Members Only
Thurs 18 April & Fri 19 April	Breaking Point Digital Conference
Thurs 18 April	Riding the Waves: Tools for Taming Anxiety Course for Kids
Sat 4 May	Breaking Point The Workshop
Tue 14 May	Resilience: Developing Strength, Calm, & Kindness in Our Kids Webinar Also incl. in the Membership

HELP FOR HAPPIER FAMILIES

We've given away thousands of copies of our Worry Stacking Guide over the last couple of weeks.

If you haven't already grabbed yours, get it FREE (usually $10) from the Happy Families Shop using the coupon code: STACK

The coupon will expire at the end of the month, so get it while you still can!

FINDING THE FUNNY

Trying to work out which cup has the least to give to your sibling...

FAMILY MEETING #2 2024

The Happy Families team here. We're getting together for our "weekly" Family Meeting two weeks in a row! If Dr Justin believed in reward charts, we'd be getting a sticker for sure.

As usual, we'll cover—

What's working,
What's not,
What's in the calendar, and
Some stuff to help your family be happier (including a BIG discount you won't want to miss!)

Let's go!

WHAT'S WORKING

You're Not Alone!

"Is it just me? Or am I the only one who has zero interest in being intimate with my partner? Too busy. Too tired."

This latest question comes from Mrs Happy Families.

Just kidding!! We're just kidding, Dr Justin!! (Please don't fire us.)

But in all seriousness, our Facebook community is feeling seen and supported by each other in answering this question. (Check out the conversation.) Have your say for this upcoming podcast.

Reply to this email with a voice memo, or
Leave a voice memo directly on our podcast page.

WHAT'S NOT WORKING

Tragic Events

Listen to the Podcast | Read the article

In response to the tragic events in Sydney, parents are asking how to help children process and respond to such devastatingly horrible news.

A natural reaction can be to tell our children everything. Some parents sugar-coat the answers, while others prefer a direct response. Others avoid the truth, hoping to shelter their child from such horror.

What should we say?

Be honest. Acknowledge the awfulness of the situation. Be okay with the grieving, at whatever level.
Ask them how it has made them feel.
Acknowledge what you are seeing in terms of their emotional response to this news. Ask them if they have any questions.
Answer them briefly and directly (avoid sugar-coating) and in an age-appropriate way. Get comfortable saying “I don’t know.”
Be guided by your children’s curiosity, and then stop. Avoid oversharing; there will be details that are simply not appropriate for children to hear.
Reassure the kids that this is unusual. There are so few of these kinds of things that happen in our country. It is a beautiful, safe country.

What else can we do?

Keep the news switched off. Offer empathy if they are exposed to disturbing news or images.
Get them back into life as soon as you can. Go outside and play. Head to places where you know they will feel safe.

Ultimately, it’s our job to guide our children in age-appropriate ways through these hard questions about horrible things. But remember, our children don’t need to be told they’re safe. They need to FEEL safe.

We express our heartfelt condolences to all who have been affected by these tragedies.

FAMILY CALENDAR

Thurs 18 April & Fri 19 April	Breaking Point Digital Conference
Thurs 18 April	Riding the Waves: Tools for Taming Anxiety Course for Kids
Sat 4 May	Breaking Point The Workshop
Tue 14 May	Resilience: Developing Strength, Calm, & Kindness in Our Kids Webinar Also incl. in the Membership
Wed 24 April	Q&A with Dr Justin Members Only

HELP FOR HAPPIER FAMILIES

Grab any digital item in the Happy Families store at 50% off!

Use code: HALFPRICE.

Choose wisely! Only one discounted product per customer.

Offer ends Sunday night.

FINDING THE FUNNY

You: OK, bedtime!

Kid: I can't go to bed. My diorama is due tomorrow and I haven't started yet.

You:

FAMILY MEETING #3 2024

What a week!

Dr Justin has had back-to-back presentations, so the Happy Families team has been holding down the fort.

Anxiety and ADHD keynotes are red hot right now. It's all Dr Justin has been sharing in schools across Australia all week!

Let's dive into our family meeting where we'll cover what's working, what's not, and ways we can help. (And Swifties—you don't want to miss our Finding the Funny section!)

Let's go!

WHAT'S WORKING

The Happy Families Podcast

"Your podcast is changing my life. Thank you. From the Bottom of my heart."

fifiboss22 (Tiktok)

Dr Justin and Kylie just LOVE to get feedback like this! The Happy Families Podcast is a free service so that we can help as many families as possible. Knowing that it's making a difference makes it all worthwhile.

(And the Happy Families team just LOVE that we've finally been able to teach Dr Justin how to do video replies on Tiktok! ;) Follow us!)

WHAT'S NOT WORKING

Roblox Isn't Safe

But is it just Roblox, or should parents be wary of any and every online platform?

Apps, social media, online gaming—whichever platform/s they are on, the advice to parents regarding online safety is the same across all.

5 ways to keep your children safe online in Roblox and beyond:

1. Know the platform. Watch it, stream it, engage with it, and see what people are doing on it on YouTube. When you have a good look at it and understand it, you will have much more productive conversations with your kids about any benefits and risks.

2. Adjust the settings to keep your kids safe. Although not foolproof (kids can and will find their way around them), parental controls matter.

3. Have regular conversations with your kids about being safe online. Keep the lines of communication open, and let them know they can always come to you for help, no matter what. Discuss inappropriate content and safe or unsafe behaviour and what they should do and shouldn't do.

4. Monitor your kids, especially young kids, when they are using any of these platforms. Be over their shoulder, ask questions, and be engaged. Play in a public space.

5. Be aware of in-app purchasing. Make sure you know what your child is spending money on. Better yet, don’t give your kids access to your credit card.Hear Justin & Kylie's reasoning for why gaming is kept to a minimum in their house (and Roblox not at all!)

FAMILY CALENDAR

Wed 24 April

Q&A with Dr Justin

Members Only

Sat 4 May

Breaking Point

The Workshop

Tue 14 May

Resilience: Developing Strength, Calm, & Kindness in Our Kids

Webinar

Also incl. in the Membership