Family support: the roles of early years' centres

The development of children and the welfare of their parents are closely inter‐linked. The study outlined below uses a longitudinal, ecological approach to explore links between different models of early years' centres and the expansion of parents support networks. Over time, parenting stress reduced and well‐being improved. Sources of informal and formal support developed and extended. It is argued that all types of centres need to develop a comprehensive approach to child development in which child care and education, as well as family support, are explicit functions. This can promote family resilience as well as social inclusion in communities. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.