Nurturing Care Framework for Early Childhood Development

The Nurturing Care Framework provides a roadmap for action. It builds on state-of-the-art evidence about how early childhood development unfolds and how it can be improved by policies and interventions.

It outlines:

• why efforts to improve health, well-being and human capital must begin in the earliest years, from pregnancy to age 3;
• the major threats to early childhood development;
• how nurturing care protects young children from the worst effects of adversity and promotes development – physical, emotional, social and cognitive; and
• what caregivers need in order to provide nurturing care for young children.

The Framework describes how a whole-of government and a whole-of-society approach can promote nurturing care for young children. It outlines guiding principles, strategic actions, and ways of monitoring progress.