It is the critical development of social and emotional skills during the early years of life that provides the foundation for life-long mental health. With support from families, communities and professionals, children can build strong skills and achieve their full potential.

Globally, the burden of mental health problems among children is significant, with some studies estimating they affect one in five children (eg Belfer, 2008). In Australia, one in seven children between 4 and 11 years is thought to have a mental health disorder (KidsMatter, 2015). However, in the years before the age of 4, there is no population-level data that can provide an indication of children’s social and emotional development.

When families have concerns about their child’s poor social and emotional development in the early years, it is often a child and family health nurse or GP who is the first point of call. The years from 2000 to 2013 saw a significant increase in the rate of ‘all psychological problems’ seen by Australian GPs among children between 6 and 11 years (Pollack, Harrison, Charles & Britt, 2014).

The National Health Survey of Australians, conducted in 2014, showed that around half of families seek help when they have concerns about their child’s mental wellbeing (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015). This emphasises the need for frontline service providers to be equipped to help families to support their child to achieve that ‘state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing’, and for those professionals to maintain an up-to-date network of specialist providers so as to enable children and their families to be referred when appropriate.