Independent Member for Kurrajong Thomas Emerson MLA is calling for reform in response to a report commissioned by the ACT Government examining the drivers of increasing child developmental vulnerability in the Territory, which was tabled in the ACT Legislative Assembly today.

28 per cent of children in the ACT are classified as developmentally vulnerable in at least one domain, which is the second-highest rate in Australia. This figure has increased in every three-yearly Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) since 2015. Developmental vulnerability increases to 52 per cent for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the ACT, despite commitments to close this gap under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

“It’s hard to comprehend that despite having the highest median income in the country and some of the highest standards of living in the world, the ACT is the second-worst performing state or territory when it comes to child developmental vulnerability,” Mr Emerson said.

In a speech delivered today, Mr Emerson announced he will seek the Assembly’s support through a Private Member’s Motion later this year to establish screen use restrictions for early learning centres and schools, and guidelines for parents supported by a public health awareness campaign. The government-commissioned report acknowledges the impact of technology and screen exposure on children’s development, but does not make specific recommendations to address this issue.

“There’s a growing body of evidence making clear the significant detrimental impact of unrestricted screen use on children’s social, emotional and physical development,” Mr Emerson said.

“We’re replacing too many meaningful human interactions with screens, and it’s disastrous for children’s development. 

“Governments across the world are starting to take action on this, and we should too. 

“The ACT was the last jurisdiction in Australia to ban mobile phones in schools. Let’s not be a laggard on screen use restrictions.”

Mr Emerson will call for:

• A strong public health education campaign engaging families from pregnancy onward about how exposure to digital products can negatively impact the development and wellbeing of children. 

• Removing child-facing digital devices from early childhood education and care centres and preschools;

• Establishing evidence-based screen use restrictions in schools, as announced in New South Wales and Victoria, and being piloted in Western Australia.

• Evidence-based standards limiting the use of artificial intelligence in classrooms.

Mr Emerson also called out the correlation between increasing pressures on families and increasing developmental vulnerability.

“Housing affordability and cost-of-living pressures mean even dual-income families are struggling to make ends meet,” Mr Emerson said.

“There’s nothing better for children’s development than quality time with the people they love. We need to create better economic conditions for families and give time back to parents to spend with their kids.”

Mr Emerson has also been a strong advocate for reforms to support the provision of high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) in the ACT, and a critic of major corporate ECEC providers with long histories of putting profit ahead of children’s wellbeing.

“We know high-quality early childhood education and care is a protective factor against developmental vulnerability,” Mr Emerson said.

“But the evidence also shows that long hours in low-quality care increases child developmental vulnerability, particularly in the social and emotional domains singled out in this report.”

“We’ve seen some corporate providers put profit ahead of children’s development, while being allowed to proliferate unchecked – propped up by billions in government subsidies – to the detriment of smaller, locally-run centres.” 

MEDIA CONTACT: Will Devine | 0402 183 296 | [email protected]

BACKGROUND:

The report, entitled Emerging drivers of declining AEDC results in the ACT, found that:

• “Developmental vulnerability is rising for children of every background and socioeconomic level, and in almost every part of the territory.”

• “Developmental vulnerability has worsened across most ACT suburbs, and the shift is much broader than socioeconomic disadvantage alone can explain.” 

• “Positive parent-child interaction is a foundational determinant of early development and evidence indicates that secure attachment through responsive caregiving supports children’s social, emotional, language and cognitive development.”

• “Family stress is a well-established risk factor for developmental vulnerability.” 

• “Economic pressure is widening and deepening across the ACT, extending beyond traditionally disadvantaged households to include time-poor, high-pressure families.” 

• “Technology and screen exposure is displacing positive interaction and reading.”

• “Increased screen exposure displaces critical parent/carer-child interaction and is associated with poorer language development, reduced cognitive outcomes, and delays in social and behavioural skills, including attention and self-regulation.” 

You can read the full report here.

You can watch Mr Emerson’s speech responding to the tabling of the report here.