Supporting Families in the First 1,000 Days

The first 1,000 days of a child’s life are critical for their lifelong health and wellbeing. This early year’s period is the most active time for children’s brain and physical growth and is impacted most by:

• Parent-child interactions that are nurturing, consistent, attentive and responsive.
• A wide range of experiences and exposures to live, grow, play and learn.

The parent’s role to provide supportive positive interactions and experiences is fundamental for children’s overall development and future wellbeing. Providing nurturing care and experiences is impacted by parents:

• Confidence in parenting
• Capacity to parent
• Knowledge of child development

When families are supported and have opportunities to build core parenting capabilities and skills, they are much better placed to provide nurturing care and experiences to their child, setting the foundation for lifelong child health and wellbeing.

The Impact of QEC on Families

Many families seek support from QEC, with a majority (96%) needing assistance with sleep and settling. At QEC, we understand the complexity of parenting and our programs are designed to support families with knowledge, skills and strategies to improve parenting confidence and capacity,sacross a range of parenting areas including sleep and settling, feeding, parent-child relationships, communication, play and child behaviour.

Last year’s (2024–25) parent reported data shows the reasons why families sought support from QEC and the impact of being involved in a QEC program. Many parents reported improvements across multiple areas that they had not initially reported seeking help with:

• 26% of families came to QEC for help with feeding, however, 65% of families reported a positive change in understanding their child’s feeding needs after the program.
• 25% of families came to QEC for help with parenting confidence, but 87% said they left feeling more confident with their parenting
• 24% of families sought help with child behaviours, yet 79% reported positive change in child behaviours.

Other things families told us:

• 70% said they have a better relationship with their child
• 79% felt more confident communicating with their child
• 66% said they better understand the importance of play
• 98% said they are using what they learned in the program

And the overall impact?

89% of families said they met the goals they set for themselves.

QEC walks alongside families to support their needs and goals ensures families receive tailored and appropriate parenting support.

QEC meets families where they are at and supports them with the reason they have initially sought help and across areas of parenting they may have not considered. . Because sometimes, families come for help with sleep and leave with confidence, connection, and a new understanding of their child.

The majority of QEC families report feeling confident after being involved in a program, enabling them to respond better to their child’s needs, especially in those first 1,000 days when early interactions and experiences are vital for children’s growth, development and lifelong health and wellbeing.