The Australian Childhood Foundation have designed this freely downloadable poster for use in organisations or households who provide services and care to children and young people.

As professionals our words are very powerful, they can be used to advocate or undermine those we are representing. How we portray children and young people in our documentation can characterise them in a negative way which inadvertently ignores their trauma experience and their deep desire to be seen heard and valued.

This poster helps to explore the meaning behind negatively charged language, and provides more preferable suggestions that hold an expectation for adults to understand and react to children’s needs rather than placing the responsibility for change with the child.