Emerging Minds Families

This episode is the second in a two-part series on supporting the mental health of children who stutter. Host Nicole Rollbusch is joined by Rich Stephens, President of SAY:Australia (the Stuttering Association for the Young – Australia), and Mitchell, who originally became involved with SAY:Australia as a participant and is now a mentor to other children and young people who stutter. In this episo...

This episode is the first in a two-part series on supporting the mental health of children who stutter. Host Nicole Rollbusch is joined by Rich Stephens, President of SAY:Australia (the Stuttering Association for the Young – Australia), and Mitchell, who originally became involved with SAY:Australia as a participant and is now a mentor to other children and young people who stutter. In this episod...

The Pear is more than a coffee house – it’s a neighbourhood meeting place that hosts community-driven events. In this episode we talk with Carol, Leonie and Annemijin from The Pear about how they found connection, The Pear and a sense of community.

Christmas and the end of year holiday season can hold different meanings for different families. Some families revel in the joy of gift-giving, transforming their homes with decorations and festive cheer. However, for many the holidays can also evoke stress, feelings of loneliness or financial pressure. In this episode we talk with psychologist Dr Angie Willcocks about navigating this Christmas ho...

It might surprise you to know there are nearly four hundred thousand young people (under 25 years) in Australia who provide unpaid care and support to a loved one. In this episode host Nadia Rossi talks with Isabella Hassall, Young Carer Coordinator at Carer Gateway for the Benevolent Society. Isabella shares how carers are often hidden figures in our community. She also discusses the challenges o...

When it comes to suicidal ideation, we are unlikely to think of children as having such distressing thoughts. But recent research by Wesley Mission Queensland has found that some children under 12 years have negative thoughts which may be the first sign of suicidal ideation. In this episode host Alicia talks with Emma and Chloe from Wesley Mission Queensland. They help us to understand the signs o...

In this episode host Alicia Ranford talks with social worker, parent educator, author, founder of Connected Parenting and mother to four boys, Gen Muir. Gen shares ways parents can support their children when they experience big feelings and emotions, especially when they don’t have the words to tell us what they need.

This episode is the fourth in a series where we talk to families who have experienced disasters. In this episode host Nadia Rossi talks with Willow who was 20 years old when her family experienced severe storms in the Dandenong Ranges in 2021. Willow shares her perspectives as a young person experiencing such a major event. Willow also offers some advice on how adults can help support the mental h...

In this episode, host Alicia talks with Sam and Kathy from Centacare’s Unify reunification service. They discuss what it can be like for children and parents to be separated from each other by the child protection system, and the shame and stigma that these families can experience. Sam and Kathy also offer insights into the reunification process and how they support families through it.

In this episode, host Alicia Ranford talks with Dr Zali Yager, an internationally recognised expert in body image with a background in health and physical education. She co-founded The Embrace Collective with 2023 Australian of the Year, Taryn Bromfield. In this episode, Dr Yager shares things families, educators and practitioners can do to help create safer body image environments for children an...

The term ‘global majority’, a collective term for non-white people, and people and groups who don't experience white privilege. It aims to the ‘flip the script’ on power as something that only white people can hold and help provide a sense of empowerment and belonging to those who are often excluded based on appearance, particularly skin colour. In this episode, guests Julie Ngwabi and Nancy Jeffr...

In this episode, host Nadia talks with Tegan and Shelly from the Finding Your Voice Choir, a community choir of women with lived experience of family and domestic violence. Together they share how the choir supports and empowers its members and helps them to form lifelong connections.

This episode is the third in a series about families who have experienced disasters. Disasters like floods, bushfires and drought are becoming more frequent and severe across Australia and can leave a lasting impact on the children who experience them. In this episode host Nadia speaks with Bron, who survived the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires alongside her husband and two young children. Bron shar...

In this episode, host Alicia Ranford talks with Sally Braddy. Sally is a mother of three children whose husband has to spend a lot of time away from home for work. Sally talks about finding family balance while her husband is away working and how they find moments of connection for their family.

This episode is the second in a series about families who have experienced disasters.  Disasters like floods, bushfires and drought are becoming more frequent and severe across Australia and can leave a lasting impact on the children who experience them.   In this episode, host Nadia Rossi speaks with Sarnia. A parent of three children, she lives with her family who have experienced flood, cyclone...

In this episode, host Nadia Rossi talks with Wei about how the stigma of single parenting has impacted her and her children's lives. Born in China and living in Australia, Wei also describes the racism and discrimination they have faced, and how she navigates and supports her family through it all.

In this episode host Nadia Rossi speaks with Heather, who lives with her family in regional New South Wales and knows first-hand the importance of accessing age-appropriate support for children who experience disaster.

In this episode host Alicia Ranford talks with Emerging Minds Director, Brad Morgan, and Emerging Minds Manager, Digital Health, Ben Rogers. They take an in-depth look at children’s mental health, including a new suite of resources aimed at supporting parents’ understanding of this important topic.

In this episode host Nadia Rossi talks with award-winning musician, writer and disability advocate Eliza Hull. Eliza shares her story about parenting with a disability and the stigma that many parents with a disability, and their children, have to navigate.

In this episode, our host Alicia Ranford welcomes back Emi and their son, Elliot, to talk about the unique connection of single parent families.

In this episode, host Alicia Ranford talks with Masha, a single mother who migrated to Australia alone, and is a survivor of domestic violence. Masha used her connection with spirituality and nature to help her build strength when connection with other people didn't come easily. She talks about how when she felt alone, this connection with faith and nature actually made it easier to connect and bu...

Relationships can provide us with a wonderful feeling of connection and shared experiences but they can also be challenging at times. In this episode, our host Nadia Rossi talks with Jess, a foster parent and youth worker who knows firsthand how complex it can be helping children and young people navigate the relationships in their lives.

Even when we really care about each other, feeling or staying connected with family can be hard. This can be especially true when a family or family member is experiencing difficult times. In this episode, our host Alicia Ranford talks with Emi (or Mumza as Elliot refers to them as) and their son, Elliot, about how they worked to rebuild connection after time apart.

In our fast-paced, digitally-connected world, the importance of building meaningful relationships within our local communities often gets overlooked. In this episode, our host Alicia Ranford talks with mother and son, Debbie and Sam, along with Sarah from the local council, about how they teamed up to create a beautiful Butterfly Garden for their community.

In this episode, our host Alicia Ranford talks with Leigh and her daughter Charlotte. Leigh is a mother of two who separated from her husband when she was pregnant with their second child. Leigh talks to us about how she navigated the separation and her husband’s new relationship while supporting her children to reconnect with their father and build connections with his new family. Charlotte offer...