Background: Communication impacts many aspects of a child’s life, including future academic success, competence with reading and writing, formation of relationships, advocacy for healthcare treatment, legal support as well as future employment. Children’s communication development is largely shaped by input from key adults in the early childhood years.

Aims: This research investigated parents’ and caregivers’ knowledge, experiences, and attitudes toward supporting children’s early childhood development in home, education, and community environments.

Method: Participants were 435 Australian parents and caregivers who undertook an online survey that examined their parenting experience using 28 Likert scale questions. Data were analysed using factor analysis and inferential statistics in SPSS. Factor analysis identified eight factors related to different facets of children’s development. Participants’ responses to each of these factors were compared with demographic variables including age, sex, highest qualification, and income. This study was approved by the Charles Sturt University Human Research Ethics Committee (Protocol Number 19379).

Results: Among the significant findings, participants with the highest expressed confidence in supporting early communication development were typically female, older, and had three or more children. Conversely, speaking a language other than English, living in a rural or remote location, and having a lower income and lower level of qualification all negatively impacted participants’ ability to access services to support their children’s development. This study highlights that parents and caregivers understand the important role they play in supporting communication development.

Conclusions: While parents and caregivers may be able to identify the need for formal communication support, barriers remain that impact the ability to access such services. Parents and caregivers need to feel safe and represented in their community to access services.

Implications for children and families: You know your child best, so there needs to be an alliance between the caregivers, clinicians and early childhood professionals to support early childhood communication development.

Implications for practitioners: You need to tailor your intervention to the people who engage with your services and link clients to community support.

Key words: families’ voices, communication, community services, early literacy, health, quantitative methods, regional/rural communities, well-being

This presentation relates to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
• SDG 4: Quality Education
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 17: Partnerships to Achieve the Goals