Helping parents give children the best possible start in life

The idea: Big Little Moments

The campaign is part of A Better Start, a ten-year National Lottery funded programme set up to help families give their babies and very young children the best possible start in life. 

This work revolves around the idea that every interaction, no matter how small, can have a huge impact on the brain development of babies and children.  Using colourful, friendly characters representing adults and children, the work aims to drive understanding of social, emotional and language development, in order to promote more effective caregiving interactions amongst primary caregivers. 

Static imagery and short animations focus on 8 core behaviours and offer achievable ways for caregivers to interact with children during everyday situations – such as talking to the bump, or making time to play. 

The campaign builds on the Frameworks Institute’s Core Story of Early Childhood Development research; a set of important scientific insights into early brain and biological development, and is the first time the research has been used in this way in the UK. 

The work is being piloted through 5 Better Start partnerships across the UK and each asset was tailored to each particular region; Southend, Nottingham, Bradford, Birmingham and Lambeth. 

The film, developed by specialist company AI, was also used for physical activity classes in schools. 

The adventure didn’t end there

Once children knew the moves and the summer holidays began, we got them active and kept them moving. 

We created an event kit for both Local Authorities and our partners at UKActive, making it easy to deliver.