The Universities of York and Durham are looking for mothers and infants to take part in a new study looking at children’s development of early language and emotions. We are looking to understand how infants start to communicate and understand their socio-emotional world in two different cultural contexts: the UK and Uganda.
We are looking for interested parents with infants who will be either 3 or 4 months old in August or September 2021.
We would like to visit you in your home when your baby is 3 or 4 months old for one hour. We would then visit you again when they are 16 months old for approximately two hours. During the visits, we would come to your home (covid-19 restrictions permitting) and play a fun set of short games with you and your child. You would also answer a short online questionnaire about your child’s vocabulary. Safety measures will be in place to minimise Covid-related risks to all participating families. We will flexibly arrange visits to suit the individual routine and needs of each family and will compensate you for your time with vouchers at the equivalent rate of £10/hour. You can choose from a range of vouchers. Our most commonly requested include Amazon, love2shop and various high street brands.
Below are statements from some of the mothers currently participating in a similar longitudinal study – the Baby Babble/Babble Buddies project – which is run by members of the same team:
“My daughter loves visits from the team. The visits are always fun, engaging and bring a smile to her face.”
“It has been fascinating (and sometimes very surprising) learning more about our child as he grows. We are proud to be involved and to be helping further research in this important area.”
“It’s a great way to see my daughter’s development, and also know you are contributing to a bank of knowledge about child development too!”
“Being involved in Babble Buddies since my son was a little baby has been a totally fascinating and rewarding experience for us both. The games we play with the team are always engaging and fun and have provided me with a bit of an insight as to how different aspects of my son’s communication and social development might have progressed”
“The team have always been polite, friendly and calming, especially when visiting us at home. It has been fascinating to watch and share the development of our daughter.”
“I have found being part of the project an incredibly valuable experience – I’ve learnt things about my son that have surprised me (in a very positive way!) – words I didn’t know he knew and stages of development that I hadn’t realised he had reached. The team is professional, supportive and always willing to be flexible with dates/times of visits. I highly recommend getting involved.”
If you would like to participate or to find out more information, please contact Ellie via:
Email: ellie.donnelly@york.ac.uk
Text or WhatsApp: 07973174087
We will then send you more information about the study: if you are interested then we will arrange a phone call to check that you and your child will be eligible to join the study. To minimise travel we are particularly keen to hear from families who live in York, North Yorkshire, County Durham, Sunderland and Gateshead, particularly the following postcode areas YO, TS, DH, DL, HG, SR and NE1-11. However, if you live just outside of these postcode areas, please feel free to contact us and we can see if it is possible for us to visit you.
