The life and health context includes the gamut of physical, emotional, and psychological factors influencing early development and affecting the child and parent on a day-to-day basis. These situations include parental psychiatric illness, substance use, trauma, grief, and abuse, which harm the learning capacity of children and formation of secure relationships (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2023). ECE settings act as intervention points for identifying challenges and responding to them by providing warm and secure environments for the holistic well-being of children (Department of Education, Skills and Employment, 2022). These sociological and psychological approaches to understanding health and well-being issues equip educators for structuring interventions and support systems that foster resilience and positive development.
From a theoretical stance, according to Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems framework, it remains important how children's immediate settings (microsystems), that is, family and early learning environments, interact with broader influences such as community services and societal attitudes toward mental health and well-being (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Attachment theory also provides valuable insights, focusing on requiring secure and consistent caregiving relationships to buffer children from negative experiences (Bowlby, 1988). Recent studies highlight the far-reaching consequences of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including exposure to trauma, neglect, or parental substance abuse, upon brain development, behavior, and learning outcomes (Shonkoff et al., 2012).