Child and Adolescent Development

FrameWorks has the world’s largest body of framing research on children and adolescents. It is used around the world to create change.

This research provides an overarching framing strategy to effectively communicate about a wide range of issues that affect children and young people.

Certain assumptions about children, youth, and families come up again and again.

To communicate effectively, advocates need to be able to navigate these dominant beliefs.

The tested frames come from research on six continents and have pushed policy in progressive directions at local, state, national, and international levels. Join this global narrative shift effort by exploring these resources.

Featured Work

Toolkit

Reframing Adolescence and Adolescent Development

This toolkit is a resource for communicators who want to change the narrative about adolescence and adolescent development.

Report

Collective Caregiving: A Frame for Talking About What Kids and Families Need to Thrive

We all love our kids. We often love our neighbors', friends', and coworkers' kids. So why haven't we, in the U.S., built systems that support all of our kids? If we want to build demand for...

Report

Talking About Racism in Child and Family Advocacy

As the field seeks to lead a more public conversation about the impacts of racism on children and families—and about how racism structures the systems that children and families interact...

All work

Showing 1 – 12 of 205

Publication

Putting the Collective Caregiving Frame Into Action: A Guide for Child and Family Advocates

This toolkit equips child and family advocates with strategies to shift public understanding around caregiving. It introduces the concept of collective caregiving, which frames caregiving as a...

Publication

Putting the Collective Caregiving Frame Into Action: A Checklist for Social Change Advocates

This guide empowers social change advocates to reframe diverse societal issues—like housing, transportation, and climate action—through the lens of collective caregiving. It demonstrates how...

Publication

Putting the Collective Caregiving Frame Into Action: A Guide for Youth-Advocates and Parent-Advocates

This guide is designed for youth and parents who want to use their lived experiences to drive meaningful change. It emphasizes the idea that caregiving is a collective effort, encouraging...

Toolkit

Reframing Early Childhood to Strengthen Systems That Impact Children and Families

This toolkit is a powerful resource designed to transform how we talk about early childhood development. It helps advocates, professionals, and policymakers communicate the vital role...

Framing Resource

Understanding Mindsets about Government Can Help Us Advocate for Children

Children’s wellbeing is supported by parents, teachers, peers, mentors, family members, friends, and the communities that surround them. It’s nurtured in the home, in the community, in schools...

Report

What Does Caring Mean?: A New Framing Strategy to Shift Thinking about Kids and Families

Children and families in the United States lack the support they need—and some more than others. This is directly tied to how we think and talk about children in our society. If we want to...

Report

Collective Caregiving: A Frame for Talking About What Kids and Families Need to Thrive

We all love our kids. We often love our neighbors', friends', and coworkers' kids. So why haven't we, in the U.S., built systems that support all of our kids? If we want to build demand for...

Report

Framing Adversity, Trauma, and Resilience

The science of adversity, trauma, and resilience is a powerful tool in any effort to improve health and wellbeing. But science—no matter how strong its findings—does not speak for itself.

Publication

Connections and Communities: Reframing How We Talk About Opportunity Youth

Everyone wants young people to thrive and be active and engaged members of their communities as they become adults. But deeply rooted, often-negative assumptions about young people can make this...

Toolkit

Emerging Minds (Australia): Children’s Mental Health and Two Generation Approaches Mini-toolkit

This mini-toolkit is a supplement to the original Reframing Children's Mental Health toolkit, created by the FrameWorks Institute in partnership with Emerging Minds. The original toolkit was...

Toolkit

Emerging Minds (Australia): Children’s Mental Health and Social Determinants of Health Mini-toolkit

This mini-toolkit is a supplement to the original Reframing Children's Mental Health toolkit, created by the FrameWorks Institute in partnership with Emerging Minds. The original toolkit was...

Toolkit

Emerging Minds (Australia): Children’s Mental Health and Climate Change and Disasters Mini-toolkit

This mini-toolkit is a supplement to the original Reframing Children's Mental Health toolkit, created by the FrameWorks Institute in partnership with Emerging Minds. The original toolkit was...