31 October 2022

Families in NSW are set to benefit from a series of new videos designed to support children and parents through the crucial first 2,000 days of life.

The ‘Building Brains’ video series, developed as part of the NSW Government’s Brighter Beginnings initiative, is now available to all parents via the NSW Health website.

The launch of the series coincides with the two-day Brighter Beginnings Summit, hosted by the NSW Government.

Minister for Health Brad Hazzard attended Day One of the Summit today and said the NSW Government is committed to giving every child in NSW the best start possible in life.

“At this Summit, we are working with health professionals and agencies across Government to deliver top-tier healthcare for children aged 0–5 years, both now and into the future,” Mr Hazzard said.

NSW Health Deputy Secretary Health System Strategy and Planning, Deb Willcox, said the ‘Building Brains’ resources will help parents better understand their child’s important developmental targets like how to play, learn, speak, act and move.

“We are encouraging parents and carers to take their children for the health and developmental checks that are so crucial in the first 2,000 days of life. These videos are designed to help parents and carers understand why these checks are so important,” said Ms Willcox.

“We know early intervention is key to supporting children who may not be meeting their developmental milestones. These resources also help parents recognise the signs faster, allowing us to provide children and families with appropriate supports sooner.”

The Brighter Beginnings initiative is a partnership between the Department of Education, NSW Health, the Department of Communities and Justice, the Department of Customer Service, the Department of Regional NSW, Multicultural NSW, Aboriginal Affairs, and the Department of Premier and Cabinet to drive transformational change in early childhood development.

The Brighter Beginnings package includes:

  • $111.2 million to bring health and development checks to all children in NSW preschool settings in partnership with health professionals;
  • $98.7 million to continue and expand the number of Aboriginal Child and Family Centres across the state;
  • $70.9 million to expand the transformational Sustaining NSW Families clinical nurse home visiting program;
  • $57.2 million to develop the clinical interface of the Digital Baby Book; and
  • $38.6 million to make Pregnancy Family Conferencing available to more parents across NSW.​