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What to expect
All of the activities we do this year will be the similar to the ones we did in the Year 4 Visit. You can expect the visit to last about 2.5 - 3 hours, including time for snacks and breaks. At the end we will have a small celebration and gift for your child. For your visit, you will receive $200 (+ $10 if you keep your first appointment) in cash in appreciation for your time. And, we will help pay for or arrange transportation, and provide child care for siblings if you need it.
Both you and your child will play some learning games, you will answer some questions about you and your family, and we will measure your child's brain activity using EEG. There will also be an opportunity to give us a small swab of saliva and nail clippings. All of these activities are completely voluntary, and we can answer any questions you have before or during the visit. To learn more about each part, see below!
Learning Games
Just like the Year 4 Visit, we will ask your child to play some games so that we can understand more about how the brain works. These games help us understand the words your child knows and their early math and reading skills. These games are like classroom activities and iPad games. We try to make sure the games are quick and enjoyable!
Life Questions and iPad activities for Mom
Your experiences are important to us. We want to know more about you and your family, how you have been feeling lately, what it is like to be a mother of a 6-year old, your household income and finances, and the last year of your life as a parent. To understand this, we will ask some questions using a survey. Like all of the information you provide, this survey is not connected to your name and all answers are kept confidential. Most questions ask you to choose a number or phrase that best matches how you feel. You can skip any questions that you don’t want to answer.
You’ll also have the opportunity to complete a couple of iPad activities that measure attention and sorting.
Brain Activity
Your child's brain is going through a lot of changes in these early years! We want to know more about the activity happening. Just like the Year 4 Visit for those of you who participated, we do this using EEG. The EEG looks like a net with many dots that fits right over your child's head like a cap. Your child will play a zoo game while wearing the cap and we will record the natural electrical activity coming from the brain. EEG is totally safe, and we can answer any questions that you or your child have about it.
A lot of kids are excited to wear the hat, and have fun playing the zoo game. We also love that parents can get great pictures of their child with the EEG cap on! We will be sure to take good care of your child's hair, no matter the texture and length.
Playtime
Playtime can get more fun as kids continue to grow into their personalities and interests. At the beginning of the visit, you and your child will have a chance to play together for about 10 minutes. We will give you toys and instructions to play building and sorting games together. We will ask to video record your playtime and will also leave the room for this part, so that we don’t interrupt your time together.
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Saliva Donation
While we can find out a lot about our lives through asking questions, some stories about our lives are best told through our biology. We can learn about how the environment is affecting our body through saliva, and during the visit you will have an opportunity to give us some saliva with a quick swab from the inside of your cheek and your child’s cheek. When you come for your visit, we will show you a quick video with more information, let you ask any questions, and then let you decide if you’d like to take part.
Nail Donation
Similar to the saliva sample, nail clippings help us learn about the way that the ups and downs of our daily lives can affect our biology. At the visit, your child will have an opportunity to give us nail clippings. If you and your child agree, we will trim each your child’s nails and keep the trimmings. Just like the saliva donation, we can provide more information and answer any questions before you decide whether to donate a nail sample.
Height and Weight Measurement
Children are growing very quickly during these years! We will ask both you and your child to step onto a scale that will allow us to get a quick measurement of both height and weight. Most kids love to see how big they are, and they also love to see their moms get measured too! The measurements will be taken in a private space.
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If you and your child might be interested in the EEG activity:
One of our top priorities when your child participates in the EEG experience is making sure that we take good care of their hair, and that they stay as comfortable as possible. Here are a few things to know before your visit:
