Why we need you

For this study we want to talk to parents who have had a baby in the last 12 to 18 months or so. We need you to help us because it is important we speak to as many mothers and fathers as possible in order to gain the most accurate picture of the support families with young children are receiving.

If you're asked to take part, your name (or your partner’s) was drawn at random from Child Benefit records, which are held by HM Revenue & Customs. The Department for Work and Pensions has been allowed to use these records in order for us to carry out this study. The names and addresses we obtain will not be passed to anyone outside the research team without your permission.

If you have been selected for this study, you will have received a letter from us. To ensure accurate results we have to rely on the people chosen for the study - no-one else can take their place.

What happens in the interviews

Interviews with mothers
Mothers will be interviewed face to face by a NatCen interviewer who will call at your address. The interviewer will enter your answers into a computer during the interview. The interview will take around 35 minutes, depending on your answers.

Interviews with fathers
Interviews with fathers are carried out by telephone. Our interviewer will ask for the father’s telephone number (if the baby’s father lives at the address) when they visit the household. The interview will take around 20 minutes.

The study is confidential - but not compulsory

We take great care to protect the confidentiality of the information we are given.

The study results won't be presented in a way that can reveal your identity. Anything you tell us will be treated in the strictest of confidence, in accordance with the Data Protection Act. Access to participants’ names and addresses will be restricted to individuals on the NatCen research team and will not be shared with any government departments without your permission.

However, the study is not compulsory. In all our studies we rely on voluntary co-operation. The success of the study depends on the goodwill and co-operation of those asked to take part. The more people who do so, the more useful the results will be. But you are free to withdraw from the study at any time.