The Children’s Wellbeing Continuum is an evidence-based tool designed to support conversations about children’s wellbeing.
By enabling parents, teachers and children to more easily discuss and reflect on wellbeing, the Continuum can support health literacy, and early identification and action when children are struggling.
Using the Children’s Wellbeing Continuum
The Continuum is an accessible tool that can be used to provide a snapshot of a child's social-emotional wellbeing at a point in time. The four anchor points of the Children’s Wellbeing Continuum range from Good through to Coping, Struggling and Overwhelmed. The Continuum is not a screening or diagnostic tool.
A table that accompanies the Continuum in the
downloadable PDF can be used to reflect on a child's wellbeing over the past four weeks.
Access the Children's Wellbeing Continuum
Why is the Continuum important?
A continuum-based model recognises that children’s mental health and wellbeing changes over time, and aims to provide a simple tool for understanding and responding to concerns early to better meet the needs of children and families. The terminology applied in the Continuum has been carefully considered and tested throughout its design. It was developed using a three-phase study comprising a literature review, Delphi studies and user testing. It has the potential to play an important role in reducing stigma, facilitating the early detection of children who are struggling, and organising appropriate supports to prevent their progress to more serious mental health problems.
Child mental health resources
Interested in the terminology of mental health? These resources explore why the words we choose to use matter for children's mental health.
- Project: Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS)
- Article: Child mental health: Building a shared language, MJA InSight, 16 September, 2022.
- Article: Building a shared language for child mental health: 3 years on, MJA InSight, 30 May 2022.
- Toolkit: Reframing children's mental health communications toolkit, FrameWorks Institute.
- Webinar: Words matter: Getting the language of mental health right, Child Family Community Australia, 12 August 2020.
- Webinar: Words matter: How to use frames to effectively advance child mental health, Child Family Community Australia, 26 August 2020.
Media highlights
Contact
For more information on the Continuum email
Frank.Oberklaid@mcri.edu.au
Citation
The Children’s Wellbeing Continuum, The Centre for Community Child Health (2022), The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and The Royal Children’s Hospital.