Life Story work

Kids in care may have experienced a lot of changes including where they live, who they live with and where they go to school. Sometimes, they might feel confused about who they are and what’s happened to them. Working on a My Life Story Book is a way of gathering and maintaining accurate information that can help kids understand who they are and where they have come from.

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What is Life Story work?

Life story work is a method used to record the details about a child or young person’s history and personal development. It is a record of their life in words, pictures and photos made by the child or young person with help from a trusted adult or other person having a meaningful relationship with the child or young person.

Download My Life Story Book (PDF 1.65MB).

Benefits

There are many benefits to keeping a life story book:

  • working on the book together helps build a bond and develop trust between the child or young person in care, their carer and caseworker
  • the child or young person develops a stronger feeling of self identity and self esteem through learning about and accepting their past
  • the book “bridges the gap” between carers and parents when the child returns home, especially when parents feel they have missed out while their child has been in care
  • making the book helps the child distinguish reality from fantasy
  • the book allows the child or young person to ask their caseworker questions they may not have felt safe to ask before such as what their parents are like and why they are in care
  • the book ensures that details about the child or young person’s culture and religion are recorded

It is up to the child or young person to decide who to share it with and they should be encouraged to keep the book in a safe place. The life story book stays with the child or young person when they return to their own home or go to another placement.

What goes into the My Life Story Book?

The My Life Story Book needs to include a written history of the child or young person’s life, from birth to the present time. The specifics of what goes into the My Life Story Book will depend on the information available and the child’s wishes.

The My Life Story Book can include:

  • photos (remember to print photos from smartphones!)
  • drawings
  • report cards, awards and certificates
  • letters from parents and carers
  • maps, postcards or pictures of significant places where the child has lived or visited
  • photos of past and present family, carers, friends, pets and so on
  • genogram or family tree
  • religious and cultural information.

Planning

People who can help with life story work include the child or young person, a caseworker, the carer, a counsellor and sometimes family members. These people can have different roles depending on the task or may work with the child or young person on certain parts of their life story.

Make it clear who will be responsible for the roles of:

  • structuring the life story work
  • preparing the child or young person for life story work
  • collecting information
  • asking the child or young person who they would like to have work with them
  • maintaining the life story work once the My Life Story Book is compiled

What you can do to support Life Story work

As their carer you will generally be the person who works with the child or young person to record their life story. Carers spend the most time with them and have the opportunity to collect day-to-day information such as photos and other memorabilia. It’s important to encourage the child in your care to establish a My Life Story Book even if they are placed with you for a short time. This is so they can link their current placement with their future journey.

Carers need to have a clear understanding of ways to maintain the MyLife Story Book. This can include:

  • taking photographs to put in the book at special events and on special occasions, such as birthdays and first day at school
  • encouraging the child or young person to keep personal mementos to put in their book such as letters, cards, drawings and paintings
  • recording the life story at the child or young person’s pace. This may be a gradual process as they become more comfortable compiling detailed information about their families and time in care
  • spending time with the child or young person at regular intervals to update the My Life Story Book
  • discussing with the child or young person that the My Life Story Book is confidential and that no-one should access it without their permission
  • keeping the book in a safe place. The carer should discuss with the child or young person where to keep their My Life Story Book so it is safe
  • ensuring that the My Life Story Book goes with the child or young person when they leave care.
  • Spend time with them at regular intervals to update their book.
  • Explain that their book is confidential and that no one should look at it without their permission.
  • Agree on a safe place to keep the book.
  • Take photos at special events and occasions, such as birthdays and the first day at school.
  • Encourage them to keep personal mementos such as letters, cards, drawings and paintings.
  • Record the Life Story at the child’s pace; this may be a gradual process as they become more comfortable compiling detailed information about their families and time in care.
  • Ensure the book goes with them when they leave your care.

If information about the child or young person’s baby days isn’t available, it may be useful to use general information about childhood development.

An important aspect in the life story is to acknowledge how the child or young person may have felt about difficult events in their life. It’s equally important to acknowledge the happy times they’ve had in the past.

Unhappy events, such as neglect or abandonment by parents or lack of community and family support, should not be ignored but presented in a way that the child or young person can understand. You may need to work with your caseworker to ensure these events are discussed sensitively. The story should be balanced and non-judgmental.

The most important way to help kids with their Life Story work is to listen, answer questions and provide information as requested. If you don’t know the information, ask your caseworker to fill in the details. You should allow the child or young person to guide you as they explore sensitive issues.

Preparing kids for Life Story work

Generally, caseworkers will prepare the child or young person for life story work together with the carer.

An important aspect of life story work is to acknowledge the child or young person’s feelings about things that have happened to him or her. They can experience a range of feelings during the life story work. Some memories may make them feel uncomfortable or sad while others may be happy. It is important that the child or young person is encouraged to talk about these feelings with a person they feel comfortable with.

Additional support such as counselling can help deal with any difficult or sensitive issues that arise during life story work. It is also important to tell the child or young person that their My Life Story Book belongs to them and that they decide who else can look at it. If someone wants to look at their My Life Story Book they must have the child or young person’s permission.

Who is responsible for Life Story work?

The caseworker is usually the person who sets up the child’s Life Story work, but it’s the carer who is responsible for the day-to-day work of helping the child or young person record their story. Carers spend more time with the child in care than anyone else, and have the greatest opportunity to collect photos and other keepsakes.

Other people who can help with Life Story work include the child or young person’s counsellor or psychologist, family and kin. These people can play different roles depending on the task. Talk to your caseworker to make sure you’re clear about who is doing the following:

  • structuring the Life Story work
  • preparing the child or young person for Life Story work
  • collecting information
  • asking them who they’d like to have work with them
  • maintaining Life Story work once it’s compiled.

The child or young person is the only one who can decide who looks at their book, so please respect their right to privacy. In some situations, they may wish to keep their own circumstances and possessions private.

DCJ has developed the download My Life Story Book (PDF 1.65MB) as a tool for guiding children and young people in care to record their life story in a way they can understand. There is also a downloadable version of the book designed specifically for Aboriginal kids in care (PDF 11.61MB).

Life Story work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids

DCJ has produced a version of the downloadable My Life Story Book specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (PDF 11.61MB). It has been designed to help children understand their cultural identity and includes the following sections:

  • ‘Who am I?’, looking at the child’s personal details such as age, colour of eyes, where they were born and favourite things
  • ‘My family, my mob’, for details about their parents, siblings, clan, extended family, carer’s family and where their mob is from
  • ‘My culture’, for recording flags, nation names, totems, words and role models
  • ‘Things I might need when I get older’, with information about Aboriginal services, supports and networks.

Depending on their age and preferences, some may choose to use a different format, for example, a scrapbook, treasure box or video. Examples of things the child or young person in your care may also like to include:

  • school photos, family photos, where they were born, where they’ve lived
  • pets, holidays and special events
  • copy of their birth certificate
  • drawings and artwork
  • letters and postcards
  • family trees
  • school awards and reports
  • awards for activities including sport and music. The Aboriginal version of My Life Story Book supports Aboriginal children in out-of-home care in understanding more about their cultural identity and in developing a sense of connectedness to family, kinship groups and the community.

It is especially important to provide for their cultural needs as this helps them grow up strong, knowing who they are, where they come from and how they fit into their community. It is important to include information about an Aboriginal child’s family, community and culture in their life story. This information can be found by talking with:

  • the child or young person
  • their parents or extended family
  • Aboriginal workers
  • their caseworker
  • Aboriginal leaders
  • Aboriginal organisations and community groups
  • using internet, libraries, books and videos
  • attending art exhibitions, performing arts events, concerts and cultural camps

Download My Life Story Book - Aboriginal version (PDF 11.61MB).

Where to go for information

Helping a child with their My Life Story Book can be fun, but collecting information can sometimes be hard. You may be able to get information from:

Life Story work with culturally and linguistically diverse kids

Each child or young person is given a copy of the My Life Story Book when they enter out-of-home care. Putting together information about their cultural and religious heritage is a key part of Life Story work (PDF 1.65MB) for kids from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. This includes details about the child or young person’s birth parents’ culture, ethnicity, religion, language and life in their country of origin. The My Life Story Book will be important for the child or young person when they become an adult, providing information about childhood experiences and achievements.

Some cultures have rituals or events that should be honoured as kids reach certain ages or levels of maturity. Caseworkers and carers can work together to make sure those important moments are observed.

Gathering information about birth parents helps kids connect with their cultural and religious heritage. This includes information about:

  • when their parents were born
  • the countries, cities or villages their parents, grandparents and extended family came from, and what these places are like
  • the language their parents and extended family speak
  • what their parents and extended family did to earn a living
  • when, why and how their parents came to Australia
  • their family’s religion, religious beliefs and practices
  • holidays, special events, foods and dress associated with their family’s culture or religion.

You can help kids explore, understand and strengthen their own sense of identity by gathering and recording information about:

  • cultural and religious celebrations, events and activities they’ve participated in
  • memories of these events and what they did
  • the language they spoke at home
  • things they enjoyed with their family and community including certain kinds of food, places, people or special experiences.

For children or young people born overseas, you can also help gather information about:

  • the country they were born in
  • how old they were when they came to Australia
  • things they remember from their early childhood, such as where they lived, friends, games they played, important people in their lives
  • what they liked and didn’t like about life in another country
  • their experiences after they arrived in Australia.

Where to look for information

You can gather information for Life Story work from:

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