General practitioners are being encouraged to take mental health and wellbeing into account during early childhood checks.
The National Mental Health Commission has released a new guide for including mental health and wellbeing in early childhood health checks (ECHC). The guide was created to help integrate mental health and wellbeing into existing ECHCs in Australia.
The goal is to create a nationally consistent approach that focuses on early identification and support for children and their families.
The guidelines were developed in response to a growing recognition within the health sector and government that a child’s mental health is a fundamental part of their overall development and that a more holistic, interconnected approach was needed.
Heath professionals know the first 2000 days of a child’s life are a critical period for development, so such early intervention has potential to have lifelong benefits.
The guidelines are not meant to be clinical standards or to encourage premature diagnosis of mental illness in young children.
Instead, they provide a framework for health practitioners and state and territory governments to enhance ECHCs by considering a child’s social, emotional, and cultural context.
By expanding the scope of ECHCs, the goal is to identify early signs that a child may be struggling, such as severe internalising (worry, fear) or externalising (tantrums, aggression) behaviours, and connect families with appropriate support before challenges become more significant.
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The whole picture
The new guidelines promote a broad perspective of children’s mental health and wellbeing that goes beyond individual developmental milestones.
It encourages practitioners to consider a child’s entire environment, including their family, culture, community, and social conditions.
This ‘whole picture’ approach, which is often referred to as an ecological lens, acknowledges that a child’s health is deeply intertwined with factors such as housing, financial security, and access to nutritious food.
More than one in five Australian children starting school are ‘developmentally vulnerable’, meaning they do not have the skills around learning, socio-emotional and/or physical, to thrive at school.
At the same time, the federal government is looking at changing the way it supports many young children with autism.
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Safe, trusted care
The guidelines also highlight the need to ensure ECHCs are a safe and non-judgmental experience for families.
This involves building trust and providing culturally safe care, particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Practitioners are encouraged to build strong, trusting relationships with caregivers and tailor discussions to each family’s unique needs.
This approach positions caregivers as experts on their own children’s experiences, empowering them to identify opportunities to strengthen their child’s mental health.
The guidelines are designed to facilitate open and honest conversations, providing families with tools and support for the future.
They also highlight the need for systemic changes to effectively implement the guidelines.
This includes ensuring equitable access to such health checks and improving collaboration and communication between health, education, and social services.
The guidelines clarify that the purpose of ECHCs is to provide early support and intervention, not to simply focus on diagnosing conditions.
The full guidelines are available online.
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