This article explores parental experiences over nearly seven years that followed catastrophic Australian bushfires in 2009. Principles of pragmatism and the constructionist tradition guided the use of semi-structured interviews with parents (nineteen mothers and three fathers) and inductive thematic analysis to distil what participants said about the trauma, loss and disruption caused by the fires, and ways in which they responded as parents. Changes described in their parenting role and family life were themed as ‘losing normal’ which encompassed managing additional exposures, losing fun and living at their capacity. Parents then evinced the struggle of settling and seeking to regain a sense of normal. This theme highlighted tensions, pressures and expectations they faced (their own and external) in trying to get back to normal, along with extended recovery timeframes. Participants valued strategies to provide stability, familiarity and manage their own emotions. The analysis highlights the influence of the parental role on an experience of trauma, the range of losses and the extended experience of disaster recovery for parents. Insights for social work practice are discussed, including the potential to inform expectations of recovery timeframes and supporting parents and their families to reconstruct their sense of normal in their new, post-disaster context.

中文翻译：

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灾后为人父母：2009 年维多利亚黑色星期六丛林大火后的新常态

本文探讨了 2009 年澳大利亚发生灾难性森林大火后近七年的父母经历。实用主义原则和建构主义传统指导使用对父母（19 名母亲和 3 名父亲）的半结构化访谈和归纳主题分析来提炼参与者所说的话关于火灾造成的创伤、损失和破坏，以及他们作为父母的反应方式。在他们的育儿角色和家庭生活中所描述的变化的主题是“失去正常”，其中包括管理额外的暴露、失去乐趣和以他们的能力生活。父母随后表现出安顿下来和寻求恢复正常感的斗争。这个主题强调了他们在试图恢复正常时面临的（他们自己的和外部的）紧张、压力和期望，以及延长的恢复时间。参与者重视提供稳定性、熟悉度和管理自己情绪的策略。该分析强调了父母角色对创伤经历、损失范围和父母灾难恢复的扩展经历的影响。讨论了对社会工作实践的见解，包括告知对恢复时间框架的期望以及支持父母及其家人在新的灾后环境中重建他们的正常感的潜力。