Caring for young children, and getting the caring right, is becoming recognised as one of the most significant challenges facing parents, communities and societies. Young children who develop secure attachments through positive caregiving are more likely to experience lower levels of stress and other associated benefits. In turn, they are more able to contribute positively to society and care for future generations. This Policy Brief summarises what is known about what young children need from parents and caregivers, and explores the implications for policy and practice.

Why is this issue important?

The care children receive in their first years of life has a lifelong impact and may even influence future generations. Parenting styles impact children’s development (Aunola &amp; Nurmi, 2005) and the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children has shown that even subtle variations in parenting styles can have significant effects on child outcomes (Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2006).&nbsp

Centre for Community Child Health

English

Analysis and Policy Observatory (APO)

 No 15 2009 
 
Initiative of:                        Supported by:   
 
 
 
 
POLICY BRIEF 
Translating early childhood research evidence to inform policy and practice 
Caring for Young Children:  
What Children Need 
Caring for young children, and getting the caring right, is becoming recognised as one of the most 
significant challenges facing parents, communities and societies. Young children who develop 
secure attachments through positive caregiving are more likely to experience lower levels of stress 
and other associated benefits. In turn, they are more able to contribute positively to society and 
care for future generations. This Policy Brief summarises what is known about what young children 
need from parents and caregivers, and explores the implications for policy and practice. 
 
 Why is this issue important? 
The care children receive in their first years of life 
has a lifelong impact and may even influence 
future generations. Parenting styles impact 
children’s development (Aunola & Nurmi, 2005); 
the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children has 
shown that even subtle variations in parenting 
styles can have significant effects on child 
outcomes (Australian Institute of Family Studies, 
2006).  
 
 
 
Parents may feel confused and anxious about 
their parenting role. Often, the more stressed 
they become, the less effective their parenting 
and the more negative the outcomes for their 
child (Essex et al, 2002; Keller, et al., 2004; 
Parke, et al., 2004). While healthy debate about 
how parents care for their children is useful, the 
conflicting advice widely available in the public 
domain can be stressful for parents, particularly 
for sensitive topics such as persistent crying, 
sleep problems and discipline.  
Not surprisingly, evidence has shown that 
children who experience abuse and neglect may 
have lifelong problems with emotional regulation, 
self concept, social skills and learning. This can 
lead to decreased academic achievement, early 
school drop-out, delinquency, drug and alcohol 
problems and mental health problems (Anda, et 
al., 2006; Perry, 2000).  
What does the research tell us? 
‘Nature versus nurture’ has been debated for 
decades, but it has not been until recently that 
we have been able to explain how ‘nurture’ in the 
external world (families, communities and 
society) combines with ‘nature’, or the internal 
world (biological and neurological), to influence 
outcomes in children. We now know that the 
relationships young children have with the 
important people in their lives shape the 
development of their brains. Thus sensitive and 
responsive caregiving is a requirement for the 
healthy neurophysiological, physical and 
psychological development of a child (National 
Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 
2004a, 2004b, 2008; Richter, 2004; Siegel, 
1999).  
Nurturing and attachment 
Decades of research has demonstrated the 
importance of attachment in shaping outcomes 
for children. Bowlby’s classic research on 
“… the conflicting advice widely available 
in the public domain can be stressful for 
parents, particularly for sensitive topics 
such as sleep problems and discipline.” 
Policy Brief No 15 2009:  Caring for Young Children: What Children Need 2 
www.rch.org.au/ccch/policybriefs.cfm 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
maternal separation found that children who had 
experienced long periods of separation from an 
attachment figure had poorer outcomes (Bowlby, 
1969, 1988). Since then, it has been found that 
children with secure attachments with a parent 
(usually the mother) demonstrate better 
academic, social, emotional, behavioural, health 
and wellbeing outcomes (Hutchins & Sims, 
1999).  
 
 
 
Animal research on the neurobiology of caring for 
the young shows how crucial such relationships 
are. For example, research with rhesus monkeys 
has shown that cortisol or stress levels in 
offspring are related to the amount of nurturing 
the mother provides (Maestripiri, 2005; Suomi, 
2003). When fostered with nurturing mothers, 
rhesus monkeys showed more positive outcomes 
than those fostered with low nurturing mothers; 
they were more likely to be socially dominant, 
have lower stress levels and a better immune 
response and were more likely to become 
nurturing mothers themselves. Those reared in 
more negative environments had high stress 
levels, were more likely to show mental health 
problems (depression and anxiety), and had 
higher levels of aggressive behaviours. They 
were also less likely to be nurturing when they 
themselves became mothers.  
Disturbances in attachment can have long-term 
consequences for children’s development and 
functioning (Siegel, 1999; Stien and Kendal, 
2004; Ranson and Urichuk, 2008; Schore, 
2001b; Thompson, 2000). Infants in foster care 
demonstrate higher neurological stress levels 
than those infants living with their parents. 
However, training foster parents in sensitive 
caregiving can result in more normal stress levels 
(Gunnar & Quevedo, 2008).  
Research on Romanian orphans (Gunnar, 
Morison, Chisholm, & Schuder, 2001) shows that 
later improvements in the child rearing 
environment do not always compensate for early 
impaired attachment. This further supports 
research that early intervention is more effective 
(Karoly et al., 2005; Lynch, 2005; Reynolds, et 
al., 2004; Schweinhard, et al., 2005; Watson & 
Tully, 2008). If left until later in life, interventions 
are less effective, more time consuming and 
consequently more expensive.   
 
A cost/benefit analysis of one of the most famous 
early year’s programmes, the Perry High/Scope 
preschool programme, showed significant 
savings to society over time in a range of 
outcomes. Programme graduates, in comparison 
to the control group, had fewer arrests for drug, 
alcohol or violent crimes, producing savings in 
the criminal justice system, and less likely to be  
welfare dependant, producing savings in welfare 
payments.  
They were also less likely to need special 
education support, and more likely to gain tertiary 
qualifications and hold higher paying jobs, 
producing less special education costs and a 
greater tax revenue to the state. The economic 
return for this expenditure by the time the 
graduates were 40 years of age was $US17.07 
for every $US1 spent. Interventions offered later 
in the lifecycle have demonstrably less 
impressive outcomes and tend to cost more per 
participant to run (Knusden, Heckman, Cameron, 
& Shonkoff, 2007).  
The biology of attachment 
There is a body of research which shows that 
young children in loving, caring relationships 
have a lower stress response than children in 
less secure relationships (for summaries of this 
work see McCain, Mustard, & Shanker, 2007; 
Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000; Shore, 1997).  
 
Brain imaging research suggests there is a 
neurological basis to the human ability to 
establish secure attachments with others (adults 
and children). When first-time mothers look at 
their infants’ faces, the reward areas of their 
brains are activated (Strathearn et al., 2008).  
 
 
Hormonal changes associated with pregnancy 
and child birth prime mothers to respond in this 
way, but their neurochemical responses to their 
babies are also shaped by the actual experience 
of caring for their infants (Kringelbach et al., 
2008). This same process allows biologically-
based attachment relationships to develop 
between infants and non-maternal carers 
including fathers, grandparents, foster parents 
and child care workers (Sims, 2009).  
 
“…young children in loving, caring 
relationships have a lower stress 
response than children in less secure 
relationships” 
“Disturbances in attachment can have 
long-term consequences for children’s 
development and functioning ” 
Policy Brief No 15 2009: Caring for Young Children: What Children Need 3 
www.rch.org.au/ccch/policybriefs.cfm 
 
 
 
Multiple attachments 
The majority of research undertaken in the 
western world has focused on the attachment 
relationship between mother and child, and has 
demonstrated the crucial importance of this 
relationship in shaping child outcomes. There is 
only limited research investigating the impact of 
attachments outside this primary mother-child 
relationship, and much of this comes from non-
western cultures. Hrdy (2001, 2008) introduces 
the idea of ‘alloparenting’ or multiple caregivers 
and cites many animal species and some human 
groups where the care of infants predominantly 
by mothers is not typical.  
Some studies have shown that in some human 
groups, having multiple caregivers is associated 
with faster child growth and increased child 
survival (Hrdy, 2008). 
Studies of African-American families (Jackson, 
1993) and indigenous Australian families 
(Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander 
Child Care, 2005) highlight the ability of children 
to form multiple attachments. Children who form 
multiple attachments are said to be at lower risk 
for negative outcomes (Sims, 2009), as the 
withdrawal of any one attachment figure (such as 
the mother returning to work) can be buffered by 
the presence of another. When there are multiple 
equal attachment figures, the responsibility for 
meeting the child’s needs can be shared.  
 
Overall, caregiving is thought to function as a 
regulator of the stress response (Gunnar & 
Quevedo, 2008), with the caregiver-child 
relationship seen as a stress buffer. Responding 
sensitively to children and forming secure 
attachments are the features of caregiving that 
have the most favourable impact on a child’s 
stress response. Less sensitive caregiving 
results in higher stress levels and a poorer ability 
to manage stressful situations.  
In summary, the research indicates that: 
• Young children need secure attachments in 
order to develop to their potential. 
• Secure attachments require attentive, 
sensitive and responsive care. 
• Attachments can be formed with other family 
and community care givers in addition to the 
mother and father. 
 
 
What are the implications of the 
research?  
• All children need to be in loving and nurturing 
environments, particularly in their early years. 
Parents require support in order to provide 
this for their children. 
• Strategies need to be explored to encourage 
families to build a network of caregivers 
around them to support them in their child 
rearing responsibilities. 
• Stressed carers are not effective carers. The 
creation of supportive services and 
communities to minimise stress on those 
caring for young children is important. 
Appropriate interventions are required where 
the caregiver-child relationship is at risk. 
Considerations for policy and programs 
An extensive education campaign is needed to 
develop a public and political understanding of 
the contribution experiences in the early years 
have on long-term outcomes (and thus on the 
future of our nation). This includes ensuring that 
clear research-backed messages about what 
young children need are made available to 
parents and professionals, and that the care of 
young children is a central consideration in urban 
and service planning. 
Making the care of young children a central 
consideration means: 
• Ensuring parents have available parental 
leave provisions to care for young children. 
• Ensuring that adequate funding is allocated 
to provide family support programs that: 
- are flexible, culturally and community 
sensitive 
- offer financial, social, emotional and 
practical support 
- are ongoing in their provision. 
All family support services need to recognise and 
support the establishment of multiple 
attachments between young children and their 
carers (parents, grandparents, other family 
members, alloparents etc.). This means: 
• Appropriate training needs to be provided for 
professionals working with young children 
and their parents, other family members and 
caregivers to recognise and support the 
development of secure attachments 
between children and their carers. 
• Improving processes for helping parents and 
caregivers communicate with professionals 
when they are having difficulties with adult-
child relationships. 
“Children who form multiple attachments 
are said to be at lower risk for negative 
outcomes” 
Policy Brief No 15 2009:  Caring for Children: What Children Need  4 
www.rch.org.au/ccch/policybriefs.cfm 
 
Policy Briefs Index 
All past editions of Policy Briefs are available on the Centre for Community 
Child Health’s website. 
http://www.rch.org.au/ccch/resources.cfm?doc_id=10885 
2009 
Caring for young children: What children need (May 2009) 
By Margaret Sims (University of New England, NSW) 
The impact of poverty on early childhood (January 2009) 
By Estelle Irving (Centre for Community Child Health) 
2008 
Literacy in early childhood (September 2008) 
By Richard Kaa and Natasha Napiza (Centre for Community Child Health) 
Towards an early years learning framework (August 2008) 
By Tim Moore (Centre for Community Child Health) 
Rethinking the transition to school: Linking schools and early years 
services (June 2008) 
By Tim Moore (Centre for Community Child Health) 
Rethinking school readiness (April 2008) 
By Estelle Irving and Tim Moore (Centre for Community Child Health) 
2007 
Parenting young children (December 2007) 
By The Parenting Research Centre 
Early years care and education (October 2007) 
By Dianne Halloran  and Natalie De Bono  
(Centre for Community Child Health) 
Overweight and obesity in childhood (May 2007) 
By Kay Gibbons (Nutrition services, Royal Children’s Hospital) and 
Melissa Wake (Centre for Community Child Health) 
Effective community-based (March 2007) 
By Tim Moore (Centre for Community Child Health) 
2006 
Childhood mental health: Promotion, prevention and early 
intervention (November 2006) 
By Jordana Bayer and Harriet Hiscock  
(Centre for Community Child Health) 
Services for young children and families: an integrated approach 
(October 2006) 
By Tim Moore and Sharon Goldfeld (Centre for Community Child Health) 
Work and family life balance (July 2006) 
By Deborah Brennan (University of New South Wales) and  
Tim Moore (Centre for Community Child Health) 
Quality in children’s services (May 2006) 
By Frances Press (Charles Sturt University) 
Early childhood and the lifecourse (Feb 2006) 
By Frank Oberklaid, Tim Moore and Sharon Goldfeld  
(Centre for Community Child Health)  
Policy Briefs 
Policy Briefs aim to stimulate 
informed debate about issues 
that affect children’s health and 
wellbeing.  Each issue draws 
on current research and 
international best practice.  
 
A multi-disciplinary team from the 
Centre for Community Child 
Health produces these Policy 
Briefs.   
 
An editorial board of national 
experts, and an advisory group of 
international experts in children's 
policy and service delivery, 
provide peer review and advice.  
 
 
References 
A full list of references and 
further reading used in the 
development of this Policy Brief 
is available from: 
www.rch.org.au/ccch/policybriefs.cfm 
 
 
Next Policy Brief 
Policy Brief No. 16 will 
address Children and Television. 
 
 
 
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The Centre for Community Child 
Health is at the forefront of 
research into early childhood 
development and behaviour.  The 
Centre is committed to translating 
research to inform public policy, 
service delivery and practice.  
 
 
 
Centre for Community Child Health 
The Royal Children’s Hospital 
Melbourne 
Flemington Road 
PARKVILLE  3052 
Victoria  Australia 
 
 
Tel:  +61 3 9345 7085 
Email: enquiries.ccch@rch.org.au 
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Caring for young children: what children need

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Caring for young children: what children need

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Analysis and Policy Observatory (APO)