Category Archives: KidsMatter

KidsMatter is a mental health and wellbeing initiative for children. KidsMatter Early Childhood works with early childhood education and care services to support the mental health and wellbeing of young children, their families and early childhood educators using a promotion, prevention and early intervention framework.

Never been a better time to Be You

More than a million children attend one of Australia’s 15 500 early education services every year. They deserve responsive, skilled guidance through those critical early years and especially as difficulties or vulnerabilities emerge. One in five children enters school with at least one developmental vulnerability (AEDC, n.d.). Knowing that one in seven children between the […]

Be safe, keep safe—online

This blog was originally posted in 2017 and updated in October 2020. Meeting, learning, chatting, listening and sharing online is all part of the Be You experience. We have many places where you can go to join our online learning community. Here you can connect with others who are interested in growing healthy minds and finding […]

Play is vital for children’s mental health and wellbeing

Originally posted in 2015, this post was updated in August 2020.  Play helps children to develop healthy bodies, minds, social and emotional capacities, thinking and learning abilities. Play is essential for children. Play can be pretending, learning a new skill, dressing up, being active, or being quiet. Children should make the rules for play, except when […]

Building connections and resolving conflict by getting to know the neighbours

Neighbours―everyone needs good ones―or so we’re told. Learn more about one service’s experiences when relationships weren’t ideal and how they made them better. Early childhood education and care services are often very aware of what is in their local community. Surrounding parks, shops, fire and police stations and other places of interest are often utilised […]

Design community together

This blog was originally posted in 2015 and updated in October 2020. Begin with the end in mind Creating a great early learning community requires developing an idea of what your service will be like. This creative, collaborative process works best when it includes everyone in your community―children, educators, families and the wider community. To […]

One day of little transitions

Little transitions, moving from one setting to another or one activity to another, constantly happen during a child’s life and they offer many learning opportunities. Transitions are opportunities for educators to: Engage and build relationships with children Nurture the development children’s social and emotional skills Communicate to children that they are in a safe, secure […]

Seven essentials for supporting families with home matters

This blog was originally posted in 2015 and updated in September 2020. By learning about and incorporating elements of home into children’s daily experiences educators assist the growth of a child’s sense of identity, belonging, and connectedness. Knowing about a child’s world beyond the early learning service has another benefit; educators can support children and […]

7 things we can do to build professional resilience

Originally posted in 2015, this post was updated in August 2020.  Being an early childhood educator can be both rewarding and challenging. Above are just a few of the responsibilities early childhood educators have. Your wellbeing matters because, as an educator, it influences your interactions and relationships with children and young people. It also affects […]

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