To improve children’s mental health, start by supporting their parents

Many Australian children struggle with their mental health. Recent data shows around one in seven children (13.9%) aged 4–17 experiences a diagnosable mental illness.

So what can actually help?

Our research shows the most powerful influences on children’s wellbeing begin at home. We analysed data from 5,501 children tracking their mental health over a decade or more, from early childhood through to their mid-teens.

While we often talk about improving mental health services to address current needs, our findings underscore how important prevention is.

To improve children’s mental health, we need to better support their parents through measures that reduce stress and instability, such as access to stable housing, financial security, mental health care and social connection.

What we did and what found

We looked for patterns in the data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. First, we identified challenging behaviours and symptoms of mental illness such as anxiety, low mood and restlessness across the whole group. Then we homed in on children who showed declining mental health over time and examined what they had in common.

Our most striking finding was that around 10–15% of Australian children developed severe and persistent symptoms of anxiety, emotional distress and behavioural difficulties. This kind of ongoing distress could begin as early as four or five years of age.

What set these children apart was their home environment. The risk of long-lasting mental health difficulties was much higher for children:

• whose mothers experienced depression or anxiety

• who experienced harsh or hostile parenting, or parental conflict or violence

• whose mothers lacked social support

• who grew up in financial hardship or housing stress.

Research shows poor mental health among primary caregivers, regardless of gender, is linked to worse mental and physical health for children.

Our study focused on mothers because they were the primary respondents in the dataset and were most often identified as the child’s primary caregiver. This reflects broader patterns in Australia, where mothers still tend to take on a larger share of caregiving responsibilities.

Risk factors rarely occur on their own

This isn’t about blaming individuals. It reflects broader systems that leave families without adequate support.

Consider a family where a parent is juggling insecure work, struggling to pay rent, battling their own anxiety, and feeling cut off from support networks. In this environment, parenting becomes harder, tensions rise, and the child absorbs that stress.

The research found children facing multiple difficulties were at far greater risk than those exposed to only one or two. Some individual factors were strongly associated with poor outcomes. For example, exposure to parental violence more than doubled the odds of persistent and severe mental illness symptoms.

Our findings suggest addressing several of these pressures together (not just treating the child’s symptoms) could make a substantial difference. Based on statistical modelling, we estimated that reducing factors such as parental psychological distress, hostile parenting and partner violence could potentially prevent up to 40% of severe and persistent mental health problems in young Australians.

But there is no simple quick fix to break such structural hardships. Governments need to provide coordinated, multifaceted support across housing, employment, mental health services and community infrastructure.

What families actually need

Accessible mental health care

This means shorter waitlists, affordable services, and options that fit around work and family responsibilities.

There have been positive steps in recent years including expanded telehealth and community mental health programs. But many families still struggle to access timely and affordable support.

Parenting support

Evidence-based parenting programs, which give parents practical strategies for managing kids’ anxiety and their own conflicts, can also help.

One example is the Australian parenting program Cool Little Kids. Its online modules focus on managing children’s fear and anxiety around things such as separation, trying new activities and sleep. Among children whose parents completed the program, a review found there was a 21% reduction in anxiety disorder diagnoses in the first year after the intervention, and 45% in the second year.

Housing stability

Secure tenancies allow children to stay in the same school and maintain friendships, reducing stress and disruption. Renters and lower-income families are more likely to experience housing insecurity and repeated moves, meaning many children face ongoing instability during critical developmental years.

Financial security

Australian research shows that policies such as paid parental leave reduces depression in new mothers, with at least 2–3 months being especially protective.

Australia has expanded both paid parental leave and childcare subsidies in recent years, but gaps remain. While these policies have improved support for many families, access is still uneven. Casual workers, lower-income households and families facing housing or financial stress are particularly vulnerable.

Combined with affordable childcare and income support, further investment in these areas could help prevent children’s mental health conditions.

Social connection

When caregivers feel supported and connected, children tend to do better. Local playgroups, community centres and parent networks can reduce parental isolation – a risk factor strongly linked to poorer child mental health in our study.

Australia already has many of these supports through organisations such as Playgroup Australia and local neighbourhood and family centres. But access remains uneven and many families still struggle to find affordable and culturally safe services in their local area.

Prevention starts earlier than we think

The message from our research is clear and compelling: supporting parents early on is the most direct path to supporting children, now and in the future.

When families have stable housing, manageable financial pressure, and access to mental health care, children are less likely to develop serious mental health problems later on.