Parenting and politics don't exactly go hand in hand, but for Early Childhood and Youth Minister Anne Aly, her concerns as a young mum remain vivid in her mind.
"When my son was two he was in long day care in early childhood education and his carers came and said to me, 'We think there's something [up] with Adam — you need to go and get him checked out'," Dr Aly said.
"I took him to the doctor and had him tested and it turned out that he had profound hearing loss."
Dr Aly was in her early twenties when she gave birth to her first son, and said she had no idea he needed urgent help.
"As a first-time mum ... there was nothing for me to compare it to," she said.
"I had no idea what was normal."
It's among a raft of issues the minister hopes to put on the agenda in Canberra today, at the federal government's Early Years Summit.
The first-ever national conference of its kind will bring together experts and departments to devise a strategy to better serve the youngest Australians.
"If we get it right in those first five years we can pretty much guarantee better outcomes for a child right through their teenage years into adolescence and adulthood," Dr Aly said.
Hopes new strategy will stop children falling through gaps
The minister said steps like these were critical in ensuring young families did not fall through the cracks — particularly for those in remote regions, First Nations families or those without access to childcare.
"We picked [the hearing loss] up at two, and because we picked it up early enough that there was no long-term hearing damage," Dr Aly said.
"He was able to get surgery — as soon as he got that surgery he started talking and he hasn't shut up since.
"He went on to be dux of his school.
"If that hadn't been picked up, and for a lot of children that doesn't ... they go to school with hearing loss or eyesight loss and they can never quite catch up."
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth has young children of her own, and said parents still struggled to find all the information they need.
"Having a reliable place to go to for information and advice is just one example [of the benefits of early education]," she said.
"Knowing how much tummy time to do, the messages around reading to your kids at night ... that sort of advice can support parents and I know parents are often looking for it."
Ms Rishworth said there was a lot the government could do better, and hoped the summit would kickstart an important conversation about parenting and the country as a whole.
"I see government as really the enabler of children and families and parents," she said.
"There is a lot of pressure often on parents and really what I see this early years strategy doing is providing a direction and a blueprint for the scaffolding around families.
"How do we make it easier for them?"
Why are the first five years so important?
It's not just physical health that's formed in the first five years of life: it's also a crucial window for mental health as young brains develop.
More than one million new synapses form in young brains every year.
Studies have shown babies that form positive connections and interactions will be healthier and better-adjusted as adults.
Epidemiologist Fiona Stanley said a lot of habits built in those early years lasted for life.
"A lot of the ways you think, a lot of the ways that you eat, whether you like sweet food or not," she said.
"All of the things that are going to lay down your future are happening then."
Professor Stanley, a living national treasure and former Australian of the Year, is a member of the advisory board devising the early years strategy.
She had a blunt warning about the future for young people as parents grappled with ever busier and more disconnected lives.
"A lot of the things that drive poor outcomes are going up and a lot of the protective factors that protected children from this adverse environment have disappeared," Professor Stanley said.
Along with Professor Stanley, the advisory board includes health professionals and childcare advocates like former South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill and National Children's Commissioner Anne Hollonds.
The advisory board will design the early years strategy after today's meeting, and deliver it to the government later this year.
