The earliest years of life shape everything that follows. Yet around the world many families are spending these critical years in homes that actively undermine their ability to thrive. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Ninety percent of human brain development occurs before age five. In that period, babies and toddlers develop the foundations for lifelong learning, emotional regulation, and social connection. Housing is not just a backdrop to family life. It shapes daily routines, stress levels, access to opportunity, and the quality of relationships. When homes are designed and managed with the needs of new parents and babies in mind, they can become a powerful platform for family wellbeing and resilient communities.
Photo: Isolde Woudstra
Housing influences how families lead their lives
Imagine two families, each raising a three-year-old and a nine-month-old.
- Family A lives in a warm, well-maintained apartment where toddlers play safely and toys have their place. A parent can watch them while doing household chores. Childcare, groceries, green spaces and transit are close by, enabling caregivers to live and work without impossible logistics. Neighbours greet each other by name and lend a hand when needed.
- Family B shares a cramped, damp bedroom with toys and clothes spilling from limited storage. Cooking, washing, and supervising are constant juggling acts. There is no safe outdoor space for play or exercise. Childcare is far, rent absorbs most of the household income, and neighbours don’t even know each other’s names.
If our earliest life experiences – and the wellbeing of those who care for us – have major impacts on lifelong health, happiness, and productivity, where does the home come in? How could housing design, affordability and access to services be shaped to close the gap between the experiences of Family A and Family B?
Where housing is falling short
Too many families today are living a version of Family B’s reality:
- 1 in 6 UK children live in overcrowded homes[1]
- 1 in 4 EU minors face overcrowding[2]
- 1 in 7 US children live in crowded conditions[3]
This isn’t just about discomfort. Poor housing conditions—characterised by harmful environmental factors and family tensions— can physically endanger the wellbeing of children and families. Overcrowding in the home creates social tension and has a negative effect on the quality of parent-child relationships and household members’ physical and mental health.[4]
At the same time, caregivers, especially mothers, are leaving the workforce because the cost and complexity of combining work and family life becomes unsustainable. This has consequences not only for families and the homes they can afford but also for economic productivity and public finances.
Much of this is avoidable. Many of the features that support Family A, including safe and flexible design, proximity to green space, integrated services, stable tenure, and community-building, are not luxury add-ons. They are rooted in principles of good housing that benefit everyone, and is particularly transformative during the first five years of life.
National Housing Federation. (2023, April 19). 310,000 children in overcrowded homes forced to share a bed with parents or siblings. https://www.housing.org.uk/news-and-blogs/news/310000-children-in-overcrowded-homes-forced-to-share-a-bed-with-parents-or-siblings/
Eurochild. (2025, June). Eurochild’s contribution to the European Affordable Housing Strategy [PDF]. Eurochild. https://eurochild.org/uploads/2025/06/Eurochild-contribution-to-the-European-Affordable-Housing-Strategy.pdf
Charles, J. B. (2018, January 17). Children may suffer worst effects of housing crunch. Governing. https://www.governing.com/archive/gov-children-overcrowding-housing-cities-lc.html
https://www.unicef.org/innocenti/reports/places-and-spaces-environments-and-childrens-well-being
Listening to families
Designing housing that supports early childhood development can feel complex. Yet one powerful starting point is simple. Listen.
When developers engage families directly, new insights emerge about how spaces are actually used and where they fall short. Developers like Patrizia and Jonathan Rose Companies have put this into practice by using the Family Voices Toolkit, which outlines helpful strategies to engage parents and carers into the planning, design, and management of their developments. Through simple yet effective activities, they gained valuable insight into how families navigate their neighbourhoods and what they need from community spaces.
These lessons enabled them to adapt design and management decisions to reflect real daily routines and pressures. Rather than relying on assumptions, they shaped housing around lived experience, creating environments that better support families with young children.
Taking the next step: Housing for a Good Start
As investors and government prioritise affordable, high-quality housing, there is a unique opportunity to think differently. Housing for a Good Start is an approach that integrates the needs, daily lives, and perspectives of babies, toddlers, and their caregivers throughout the housing development and management lifecycle.
To help make this vision practical, the Van Leer Foundation has partnered with the Impact Investing Institute to encourage the knowledge and adoption of Housing for a Good Start among investors, developers, and asset managers. This project sets out what supportive housing looks like in practice. It brings together the evidence, the business case, and real-world examples to support adoption across housing investment and development in the UK, the United States, and Europe.
When we design housing with the earliest years in mind, we are not only supporting individual families. We are investing in stronger communities, more inclusive economies, and better futures for us all.
A guide for housing investors and developers to embed the needs of babies, toddlers, and their caregivers in housing investment, design, development, and management.
