Social Contexts

Social contexts for early childhood include social or geographic isolation, and divorce or separation of parents, as well as children in out-of-home care (OOHC). Isolation can occur for single-parent families following the breakdown of a relationship and the loss of a network of social support, extended families or geographic communities, especially when moving to a new area. In the social context of blended families, children develop new relationships with step-parents and step-siblings, and two sets of extended family. They also learn to cope with shared custody between two homes.

Early childhood education is centrally placed within this context because family systems theory (Minuchin, 1974) views the family as a connected system whereby a change in one relationship impacts on the others, as well as the child's roles, boundaries and routines. As indicated by Grace et al. (2022), Australian early childhood services are increasingly having to depart from the notion of one fixed family model and develop practice that is flexible to children's actual, evolving family contexts. Social capital theory (Putnam, 2000) also accounts for the impact of isolation on a family's ability to utilise informal support networks that usually help to buffer against stress.

This context in Australia is significant, but is changing. There are also 8% of couple families with dependent children who are step-families and another 4% who are blended families (Australian Institute of Family Studies [AIFS], 2023). Separation is still widespread: in Australia, 47,216 divorces were issued in 2024 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2025), and almost half of divorces have dependent children, so family disruption is a normal, not an uncommon, modern experience. The Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) is Australia's national longitudinal evidence base to understand these transitions, following approximately 10,000 children and their families since 2004, with a focus on children's developmental pathways and the impact of family change over time (Department of Social Services [DSS], n.d.).

Isolation has not increased, just changed. In the previous survey (ABS, 2025), weekly face-to-face contact with family or friends outside the household was 53%, which was still below pre-pandemic levels five years ago (68% in 2019). Trust has also been declining: in 2025, 50% of Australians said they were trusted by most people, while the proportion of those who said this was true dropped from 61% in 2020 (ABS, 2026) and from 79% in 2020 to 66% in the healthcare and justice systems (ABS, 2026). This decline in trust in the Federal Government in particular was echoed in the loss of trust in institutions and interpersonal relationships, and had a similar effect on the informal support networks that families, especially newly single parents, rely on in times of stress (O'Donnell, Falkiner & Szachna, 2026).

Children's sense of security, routine and stability in their relationships is impacted when they experience social isolation or changes in their families. Children who have experienced a single-parent home may experience disrupted routines, less time with one parent and less time or energy of the carer for social and community involvement due to sole parenting. The developmental task of attachment to new caring adults and new sibling relationships can create some confusion, loyalty issues or behaviour change in the early years for those who enter into blended families. Children in OOHC are highly likely to have a history of disrupted attachment and placement instability, which are both strongly correlated with the risk of developmental delay and the need for trauma-informed support (National Mental Health Commission [NMHC], 2021). Early childhood services need to be ready for the changing family composition and pick-up situations, as well as for the emotional burden that families may carry over these changes.

The Family Law Amendment Act 2023 introduced a new presumption of equal shared parental responsibility to Australia's family law system, and shifted the focus to the best interests of the child, which is relevant to the interpretation of 'custody' and 'pick-up' arrangements in early childhood services. Children's exposure to conflict is minimised due to the availability of free dispute-resolution and parenting-plan information services at Family Relationship Centres funded nationally. Safe and Supported: National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children 2021–2031 provides the broader policy guidance, including a focus on keeping families connected and together and on cultural connections, particularly for First Nations children in care (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2026).

Such policies have an impact on early childhood practice through the need to have clear and accurate documentation of responsibilities and work sensitively with children experiencing complex family transitions. State-based child protection legislation, like the NSW Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998, also has provisions for out-of-home care to report issues affecting children in care, which means that specific staff training is required on the statutory obligations. Such changes to the law impact on ECEC practice by requiring services to keep careful records of parental responsibility, and to ensure that two copies of any communications are sent to both parents to prevent excluding parents who are not living in the service.

Grace et al. (2022) stress the importance of flexible practice that can account for children's real-life, evolving family situations. The following five evidence-informed resilience strategies aid children and families going through social isolation, separation, and care transition:

These partner agencies work together with ECEC services using referral systems and joint planning meetings for children in care, and staff training about trauma-informed and family-transition sensitive practice.

These educator resources give practitioners a shared language for family change and a practical basis for supporting children through transitions.

Altogether, these sources provide children with appropriate language about family change processes, while giving educators a common language to build empathy and reduce stigmatisation.