Free resources
Free printable resources for families and practitioners
Free guides to help children after family violence, for parents, carers and the professionals who support them. Free to print and share.
For parents and carers
Talking with your child after family violence
Messages children need to hear, what to say when they ask about Dad, how to listen, everyday things that help, and when to get more help. 2 pages.
Download the parent guide (PDF)For practitioners
Using Where's My Daddy? with families
For counsellors, refuge and family violence workers, and school wellbeing staff: parent-led reading, child-focused conversations with parents, and when to refer. 2 pages.
Download the practitioner notes (PDF)For children
How do I feel today?
A feelings page to point at or colour in, a space to draw, and a place to write down their safe grown-ups. 1 page.
Download the feelings page (PDF)Where this information comes from
Zoe Jones is a mum who has lived through leaving family violence with her child. That experience is why she made these resources. She is not a psychologist, counsellor or other qualified professional, and the resources don't contain her own professional advice. They bring together, in plain words, published guidance from child psychologists and child trauma experts. Some of that guidance, like the NCTSN fact sheets, was itself developed from survivors' lived experience alongside research. Each resource names its sources and marks wording quoted from them.
- Australian Psychological Society (2018): Separating parents, family violence. Promoting children's wellbeing when one parent is leaving a violent partner
- National Child Traumatic Stress Network (2014): Children and Domestic Violence, fact sheet series for parents (US)
- Emerging Minds: Talking to parents about family and domestic violence (PERCS-FDV conversation guides)
These resources are general information, not advice for your family's situation. For that, talk to your GP, a counsellor, or a family violence support service, such as 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.