Why take part?

Help us learn about a new generation of children

Every baby is special, but those born today belong to a one-of-a-kind generation. The cost-of-living crisis, advances in digital technology, and environmental concerns have all brought unique challenges for mothers and fathers like you, your children and your futures.

Generation New Era is the first new UK-wide study of its kind in 25 years. It aims to follow the lives of this new generation as they grow up in our changing world.

The UK has been a world leader in this kind of research for more than 70 years. There are currently four other national birth cohort studies of people born in 1946, 1958, 1970 and 2000 still running today. By comparing information across the different studies, we can see how life in the UK is changing from generation to generation.

By being part of Generation New Era, you are helping researchers to understand the lives of children growing up in the UK today and contributing to this internationally important historical series of studies.

Make the case for change

Generation New Era will provide vital new information about children’s health and development. Findings from the study will be used by researchers, governments, policymakers and service providers and will inform decisions about the services and support available for children and families everywhere.

The findings from studies like Generation New Era have been a real force for change. For example, they have:

• Led to policy changes supporting parents in their baby’s first year of life. This includes introducing paid paternity leave, adoption leave and the right to request flexible working, extending maternity leave to one year and introducing shared parental leave.
• Been an invaluable source of evidence on the mental health challenges facing children and young people.
• Identified a connection between smoking in pregnancy and low birth weight, sparking a major public health campaign in the 1970s. 

By being part of Generation New Era, you will be making an important contribution to society, helping to shed light on issues that matter to families now. 

Be the voice for families like yours

There is no child like your child and no family like your family. Taking part in the study means that your child’s unique journey, and your family’s unique experiences, are included in these important statistics. 

Many families will be finding life especially difficult right now. Other families may be in a more comfortable place. But for the study to be valuable, we need babies growing up in all different circumstances and in all different communities to take part. This is vital as it will enable us to make comparisons, see how these differences matter for children’s development and pinpoint the things that could help all children get the best start in life. 

We can’t invite everyone to take part, but we will ensure that the families chosen for the study, together, reflect the diversity of each region, country and the UK as a whole. This way, the story the study tells will reflect the whole of our society. Through the families invited to join the study, everyone will have a chance to be heard.

We want to hear from fathers as well as mothers, and from parents who may be living apart from their child’s other parent. This is vital so that we have a complete picture of each child’s life.  

Share your experiences

We hope being part of the study gives parents the opportunity to think about their experiences as a parent and how their child is growing up.

Get a little something back

To say thank you for taking part, we will give each parent a voucher for their time. We hope that this helps acknowledge the time and effort you give to the study.