Two potentially important aspects of post-separation parenting arrangements are the number and nature of children’s transitions between homes. Yet scant empirical attention has been paid to the practical, emotional, and relational aspects of these. In this seminar, we examine five contextual factors that shape how children and parents experience and interpret transitions: changeover locations, transition routines and rituals, transitional containers, transitional objects, and transitional people. Children's transitions are not just movements between homes, but negotiations of identity, loyalty, and emotional safety. These embodied acts—what children wear, carry, or leave behind—are saturated with meaning. They remind us that transitions are not neutral, but relational spaces where children's sense of self and belonging are continually reconfigured.

About the speaker
Bruce is a family sociologist and has worked in family law and family policy for the past 3 decades, including a decade with the Australian Institute of Family Studies. Bruce has been with the ANU for almost 20 years and continues to serve on the ANU Human Research Ethics Committee.

Bruce is highly published and has recently edited a textbook on human research ethics: Routledge Handbook of Human Research Ethics and Integrity in Australia. Smyth, B. M., Martin, M. A., & Downing, M. (Eds.) (2025). Routledge.