Strong family means better social and emotional wellbeing and higher reading scores for Indigenous children in Footprints in Time

Abstract

It’s no surprise that relationships matter for parent and child mental health, but good family relationships may also matter for learning to read. Footprints in Time (the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children) shows that, not only do the relationships and support of parents and carers relate to children’s social and emotional wellbeing, but they also relate to children’s reading proficiency. The study is now visiting the families of more than 1200 Indigenous children across Australia for its seventh year.