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The First Five Years – A Parent Perspective

In 2024/5 we commissioned research to understand parents’ experience of supporting their child’s social and emotional development.

The world is evolving rapidly, as is the context in which families are raising young children. The lasting impacts of the pandemic, cost-of-living pressures, changing social norms, and the rapid growth of digital technology are shaping modern family life. Many parents are navigating increased stress, economic pressure, and reduced social support, which can make it harder to provide the nurturing environments that support healthy early development.

Against this backdrop, in 2024, the Centre commissioned a twelve-month research project to better understand parents’ experiences of early parenthood, how they access information and support, and how early years practitioners can most effectively engage with them. The research also explored opportunities to strengthen support for parents and address gaps that may limit their ability to nurture their child’s development.

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Highlights

  1. Parents of children from birth to 5 place high importance on social and emotional development during early childhood. However, their awareness grows as social and emotional development becomes more obvious, particularly in toddlerhood (around age 2) when behaviours such as meltdowns or difficulties with sharing emerge.

  2. Parents draw on a wide range of sources for information, including health professionals, early education settings, family members, peers, and social media. In the last year almost 9 in 10 parents (87%) have sought out information, advice or support relating to their child. Of those, more than 9 in 10 (93%) approached a formal source of information such as an early years educator, health professional or the NHS website for advice, which they typically find reliable and are likely to act on.

  3. Parents value opportunities to speak with knowledgeable practitioners, particularly when guidance is personalised and grounded in an understanding of their individual child and and the wider context of family life, including cultural background, financial pressures, and concerns about neurodivergence.

  4. Parents consistently say they want authoritative, clearly communicated information that helps them understand their child’s behaviour and development in everyday terms, and to make confident, well-informed decisions.

  5. When professional support is limited or brief, parents often turn to other sources, such as friends, family or online communities. The digital world, in particular, allows constant access to information, which can be highly relatable.

  6. Yet parents find the volume of information and advice overwhelming, and can expose them to conflicting messages or unhelpful comparisons. These mixed messages can create uncertainty and confusion, and – for some – can erode trust in all sources of information.