- Who are you?
We are a team of researchers, physicians, graduate students, and staff at Yale University. Our group members and collaborators come from all over campus, including the Child Study Center; psychology; obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences; pediatrics; Haskins Laboratories; and the Yale-New Haven Hospital. We are united in our desire to use research to better understand parenting, child development, and the growing brain.
- What happens after I enroll in the Baby School?
Once you sign up for the Baby School, either through the form on this website or in-person, we will reach out to you to schedule an hour-long orientation visit to the Yale Child Study Center. The orientation will be an opportunity for us to know you better, and for you to meet us!
After the orientation, we will reach out to you with details on how to access our free online course on parenting and child development. Furthermore, if you give us your permission, individual researchers will contact you about any studies that you or your child may be eligible to participate in. This does not obligate you to participate in any particular study, but simply gives us an opportunity to tell you about it and invite you to participate.
Don't hesitate at all to contact us if you have any questions about this process, at babyschool@yale.edu or 203-494-0120.
- What will we gain from participating in a research study?
Our developmental research studies are designed to be fun and engaging, and many are framed as a game that your child can play. We hope that participating in research together with your child provides an opportunity not only for bonding, but also for learning more about how we study child development. You will receive a small amount of money as compensation for your time participating in our study.
We also want to emphasize that developmental research labs, both at Yale and around the globe, absolutely rely on enthusiastic and continued participation from families such as your own, to make discoveries about how children develop! So much of what we know about child development, ranging from how a baby perceives the world to how we as caregivers can impact their development, arose from data provided by parents and children participating in a research study. By participating, you can genuinely help us advance our knowledge of the growing child, which could have implications for education, parenting, medicine, and more.
- Where does the research take place?
Our research takes place in a variety of locations affiliated with Yale University in New Haven, CT. Locations include Haskins Laboratories, the Child Study Center, the Anlyan Center, and at 100 College Street.
- What is participating in a typical study like?
A visit to one of our labs for a developmental study will typically last between 30 minutes to 2 hours. Most parents report that participating is an enjoyable experience. You will be with your child for the duration of your visit, and a researcher will always be available to talk with you and answer any questions that you might have.
All of our experiments have been approved by the Yale Institutional Review Board for safety and ethics. A typical experiment will involve investigating how your child responds to stimuli such as words, pictures, movies, or music. We do our best to design our experiments as games, and to make our experiments as engaging as possible.
Some studies might involve an additional component, such as brain imaging, using an iPhone application, or eye-tracking. When we contact you for a specific experiment, we will always describe the experiment in full detail before you choose whether or not to participate.
- Do I get paid for participating in a study?
You will be paid to participate in most of our studies, to compensate for both your time and travel. Often, we will express our thanks to children who participate by offering them a choice of a small gift or toy. Finally, we offer free parking and child care for siblings who come along to your appointment.
- I have another question that is not on this list.
For general inquiries, please contact us at babyschool@yale.edu or 203-494-0120. If you would like to reach out to a specific person, please find contact information for every member of our team by clicking here.