This Queensland family lost everything and had to learn how to react

Stephanie and Karl Black were forced to carry their children on their shoulders to safer ground after metre-high floodwaters forced them out of their home.

The family lost almost everything they owned, including their car, when 1.2 metres of water inundated their Mackay home.

Stephanie and Karl Black and their four children have been forced to move several times after they lost almost everything in floods.

They were still feeling the effects of the traumatic situation more than a year after the flood event on March 29, 2017 – the day after Cyclone Debbie hit the region.

Mrs Black said her family’s life changed dramatically after Cyclone Debbie as the family felt the financial and emotional strain of moving four times, including changes of schools and preschools for the children.

“We were unfortunately under-insured, so our life changed dramatically since Cyclone Debbie,” she said.

“I needed to know how to parent in this situation.

“I was in a rut, miserable and questioning why everything had happened to us and it was rubbing off on my children, especially my oldest son who started experiencing anxiety and thinking things were somehow his fault after the cyclone.”

It was Triple P - Positive Parenting Program seminar that helped Mrs Black cope.

“I was able to process the redundancy more positively, and I know that if I didn’t have the skills I had learnt about resilience I would probably once again be questioning why that had happened to me, and feeling miserable,” she said.

“It’s actually been a blessing in disguise for us. I’m home full-time with the children now and things are looking up. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel for all of us.”

Triple P spokesman Matt Sanders said the way a parent responded during a stressful life event had a powerful impact on kids.

“Children look to the adults in their life for cues on how to respond to difficult situations, so the better a parent can cope with challenges, the better role model they can be to their children,” he said

Triple P has been running its Raising Resilient Children seminars in areas impacted by Cyclone Debbie for the past 12 months.

A range of free Triple P parenting support is available for all Queensland parents and carers.