What does taking part involve?

We want to interview all mothers and fathers to help us build a full picture of each child’s life. This includes mothers and fathers who live apart from their baby’s other parent, whatever involvement they have with their baby.

We will invite one parent, usually whoever spends the most time with the baby, to complete a 60-minute interview in person with the interviewer.

We’ll ask the other parent to complete a separate 30-40 minute interview, which is shorter as we only need to ask some questions once per baby or household. The shorter interview can be done in person or online, whichever suits you best. We can also sometimes do this by telephone.

It’s your choice who does which interview. Each parent will be interviewed separately. Your baby does not need to be present.

The interviews will be carried out by trained interviewers from Ipsos, an independent research organisation, and take place at your home, at a time that works for you. 

The interviewers are used to speaking with mothers and fathers in many different communities, situations and types of families. Interviews can be done in languages other than English, and study leaflets and letters are available in other languages.

Taking part is completely up to you. As a thank you for your time, everyone who takes part will receive a high street voucher.

How does it all work?

• First of all, you’ll receive a notification letter to let you know that your family has the opportunity to be part of Generation New Era.
• You don’t need to decide if you’d like to take part when you get this letter. If you live in England, Wales or Scotland and would prefer not to receive further information about the study, or prefer not to take part, you can let us know by Freephone at 0800 151 0610 or email: gnestudy@ipsos.com by the date given in the letter. If you live in Northern Ireland, you should contact the Business Services Organisation using the details on your letter.
• A few months later, we’ll send you an invitation letter and a booklet which is your guide to the study. This will give you more information about what’s involved in taking part. You can let us know then if you decide you’d prefer not to take part.
• A fully trained interviewer from Ipsos will then call at your address to ask if you’d like to take part. The interviewer will be happy to answer any questions you may have. The interviewer will always carry photo ID. If you’re out or it’s not convenient, the interviewer will come back at a better time.
• If you decide to take part, the interviewer will arrange a day and time that works for you for your interview.

When is Generation New Era starting?

We will be interviewing mothers and fathers when their baby is around 9-10 months old, to understand health and development in the first year of life.

In England, Wales and Scotland, the notification letters were sent in early July 2023. The invitation letters were sent, and interviewing started, in Autumn 2023.

In Northern Ireland, the notification letters are sent in February 2024, and invitation letters will be sent and interviewing will start in April 2024.

What does the interview cover?

Answering questions about yourself and your baby

We’ll ask you questions about your baby, your experiences as a mother or father, and about you and your family. You can skip any questions you do not want to answer. We will only ask questions relevant to your own circumstances, for example, we won’t ask questions about your baby if you don’t see them.

1) About your baby

We’ll ask you about your baby’s:

• Health
• Behaviour and development
• Sleep
• Diet
• Activities they do with you

If you have twins, triplets or more, some of the questions will be repeated about each baby.

Why are we asking this?

To understand what life is like for this unique generation of children, we need to understand what your baby’s life is like and how they’re developing.

2) About your experiences as a mother or father

We’ll ask you about:

• Your home and family
• Your work situation (including any maternity or paternity leave)
• Your health and wellbeing
• Your baby’s pregnancy and birth
• Your relationship with your baby
• The support you receive from people in your life
• Any services you or your baby use
• Any childcare arrangements

Why are we asking this?

Knowing what your life is like and how you are experiencing being a parent is vital to get the full picture of your baby’s life.

3) About you and your family

We will also ask some wider questions about you and your family, including:

• Any other children you have
• Family finances
• About the area you live in
• Key information about your child’s other parent and any partners

Why are we asking this?

This is vital for building a picture of what your home life is like.

Adding information from administrative records

Government departments and agencies, such as the NHS, routinely collect administrative records about all of us to help plan and provide services.

We would like to add information from health, education and social care records about you and your child to your study responses. This makes the study even more useful for researchers and policymakers, who will use this information to improve public services for everyone. This will be covered as part of your interview.

Find out more by clicking the ‘Adding more information about you’ button below.

Giving a saliva sample

We are asking some parents and their babies to add genetic information to the study, to help understand how genes influence people’s lives, and how genes and the environments people experience work together.

If you have been invited to do this, the invitation leaflet and letter (second mailing you receive) lets you know.

You can read more about what being part of research about genes involves, as well as instructions about how to give your or your child’s sample by clicking the button below.

It’s completely up to you whether or not to give these samples, and if you don’t wish to do this you can still take part in the study. 

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What happens after the interview?

The interviewer will leave you a leaflet about what happens after the interview. We hope to invite you to take part every few years to find out how your child is getting on as they get older.

It will always be up to you to decide whether you want to take part. Future surveys are dependent on further funding for the study.