Shannon Bennetts

La Trobe University

Dr Shannon Bennetts is a Research Fellow in the parenting team within the Judith Lumley Centre at La Trobe University. Dr Bennetts’ research focuses on supporting and understanding the needs of parents, children, and families. Her research interests include parent and child mental health and wellbeing, children’s learning and development, parenting during adversity, the work-family interface, and the role of social media in contemporary parenthood.

Dr Bennetts has worked on a number of large research projects, including the Early Home Learning Study; a cluster randomised controlled trial evaluating the smalltalk early childhood parenting program. Dr Bennetts also leads the Parents, Pets & Pandemic project, which aims to understand the benefits and challenges of having a cat or dog for Australian families with children. She completed her PhD in 2017 with The University of Melbourne, based at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute.