Thousands of Welsh families invited to join major childhood study?

Nation.Cymru staff

Parents of 4,500 babies in Wales will be invited to help researchers investigate the pressures facing parents, how children develop and which forms of support make a difference to families

Generation New Era will follow 30,000 babies born across the UK in 2026, with Swansea University leading the Welsh involvement in the first UK-wide study of its kind for 25 years.

The project will explore how parents combine employment with childcare, how financial pressures affect home life, and the growing role of digital technology in parenting and children’s development.

Professor Lucy Griffiths, of Swansea University Medical School, is leading the study in Wales.

Selected parents will receive an invitation when their babies are around nine to 10 months old, with interviews taking place over the coming year.

An earlier pilot tested the questions with families, including one Welsh parent who welcomed the opportunity to contribute.

“It’s exciting that we could help form new understanding of this generation and the lives they will lead,” she said.

She described the constant decisions involved in choosing food, play activities and childcare for her daughter, and hoped the findings would help future parents and professionals.

Professor Griffiths said tracking children over time would help researchers understand how their surroundings and early experiences influence their lives. Welsh families’ contributions would provide evidence to inform services and policy.

The study is led nationally by UCL’s Centre for Longitudinal Studies and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

Fathers are a particular focus, including those who do not live with their babies. Researchers want to address gaps in earlier research that often overlooked their experiences.

The project also includes additional families from ethnic minority backgrounds and lower-income areas, and researchers are keen to hear from young parents.

With parental consent, responses will be linked to routine health, education and social care records, allowing researchers to build a more detailed picture of family circumstances.

Public policy

Generation New Era follows earlier studies of people born in 1946, 1958, 1970 and 2000–02, whose findings have informed public policy.

The number of families invited in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland has been increased to ensure the research can support decisions in each UK nation.

Participation is by invitation rather than open recruitment, helping maintain a representative mix of families. Those selected are being encouraged to respond so that parents with different backgrounds and experiences are heard.