Background <p>The first 1000 days represent a critical developmental window, during which social, material, and relational environments exert a lasting influence on children’s health. Social health inequalities emerge early in life, when families experience unequal access to resources, support, and spaces of social participation. In France, parenting policies have recently been strengthened; yet interventions overlook the structural and contextual determinants that shape parenting experiences. Fostering parental empowerment requires a genuinely ecosystemic approach to parenting support. This article describes the design of a realist evaluation that will examine the conditions under which parenting support services promote the development of parental empowerment.</p> Methods <p>This study draws on a realist evaluation of nine parenting support services implemented in diverse institutional, territorial, and organisational contexts in France. Realist evaluation seeks to understand how and why interventions work (or do not work), for whom, and under what conditions, based on Context-Mechanism-Effects (CME) configurations. Data collection includes approximately 80 semi-structured interviews with parents and professionals, as well as two minimal participant observations in each service. A configurational analysis will be conducted using NVivo following an iterative logic: separate coding for parents and professionals, and the progressive reconstruction of Context-Mechanism-Effects configurations in order to develop middle-range theories.</p> Discussion <p>This study will identify the conditions that support the development of parental empowerment from an ecosystemic and a health promotion perspective. The realist approach will also identify unintended or potentially adverse effects, informing how parenting support services may be implemented.</p>