MANY country kids are getting a rough start in life, with up to one in five considered "developmentally vulnerable" because of poor physical health or social skills.
City kids are also at risk in disadvantaged pockets across Melbourne, where preschoolers are up to six times more likely to face developmental problems than those in well-off areas, the Herald Sun reports.
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For the first time parents will be able to get a detailed picture of the challenges facing their children in their most formative years.
The Australian Early Development Index reveals children growing up in country areas, such as the Wimmera, Goldfields and Central Highlands, are up to six times more likely to face developmental difficulties due to poor health or social abilities than those in rich Melbourne suburbs.
They are also more likely to be emotionally immature and suffer communications difficulties.
New community profiles reveal preschoolers living in Frankston, Greater Dandenong and the City of Casey are also at high risk of being "developmentally vulnerable".
About one in six preschoolers in Dandenong is lagging in physical development and emotional maturity, and 20 per cent have poor communications skills.
But just 3 per cent of those in bayside suburbs, such as Brighton, Hampton and Sandringham, have poor communications skills, and just 5 per cent are seen as emotionally or socially immature.
Child psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg said the sharp divide between country and city kids was disturbing and that the effects of the imbalance could last a lifetime.
"A significant minority of these children appear to be growing up in circumstances of limited opportunity and pervasive psychological and physical adversity, such that their early development, if not their whole lives, could be irretrievably compromised," Dr Carr-Gregg said.
"There is a high potential that if not addressed these areas may become the breeding grounds for disaffected, disaffiliated young people whose life trajectories may well be interrupted by crime, delinquency, drug use and mental illness."
Early Childhood Education Minister Kate Ellis said it used to be thought that a child's learning did not begin until they reached school.
"But evidence internationally now tells us that overwhelmingly, a child's developmental learning takes place in the early years," she said.
"As all parents know, a child's potential for development and growth between ages zero and five is immense.
"It is during this period that children learn how to walk, to talk and to relate to others."
The index was compiled by testing 261,203 children, about 97.5 per cent of Australia's five-year-olds.
