At least 100 of the Canberra families affected by Mr Fluffy have had to uproot young children from their homes and neighbourhoods.
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How children are expected to understand Canberra's asbestos crisis, as well as the reasons they have to leave their home when they cannot "see" anything wrong with it, has been addressed in a new support booklet.
The booklet, "CHAMPS: a change management program for preschool and primary school age children", has been developed by teacher and early childhood specialist Wendy Hegarty, who can understand the devastation of Mr Fluffy from a unique perspective.
Ms Hegarty and her family left their home under particularly traumatic circumstances in August last year when it was discovered that the home had "high levels" of Mr Fluffy asbestos and it was too dangerous for them to return.
This experience, coupled with Ms Hegarty's ongoing focus on supporting young children, led her to develop the resource which provides a series of activities adults and children can work through one-on-one over nine weeks, focusing on questions and uncertainties children may face when having to leave their home.
"Children have amazing resilience and an ability to enjoy life despite difficult circumstances," Ms Hegarty said.
"Difficult change, like the Mr Fluffy situation, can be overwhelming for young children and sometimes they need help to think about things – the CHAMPS booklet gives adults and children the tools to do that."
More than 700 of the 1022 affected Mr Fluffy homeowners have now permanently moved from their property through the Buyback Program and the Asbestos Response Taskforce is aware that at least 100 of these owners have children aged under 12 years.
Dr Sue Packer, Chair of the Community and Expert Reference Group and a specialist paediatrician said the booklet was an important initiative to help children review the events in their lives.
"The Mr Fluffy issue has been an emotive one for owners affected as they have needed to make a series of difficult decisions around the future of their properties. Children often pick up on some of the stresses this can bring," Dr Packer said.
"The CHAMPS booklet is a way for preschool and primary-aged children to reflect on the good things in their lives and how little of this is affected by a crisis like 'Mr Fluffy'.'
"It also gives children an opportunity to separate out their thoughts and feelings about the situation from their parents' perceptions and emotional responses," Dr Packer said.
"It is an important resource to help the children in our community move forward confidently and develop their own understanding and acceptance of the situation."
The CHAMPS booklet has been supported through a financial grant from the taskforce and will be sent directly to homeowners as well as being available through the taskforce.
