Most primary caregivers are finding time to connect with baby, new cohort study finds

Most modern parents are finding the time to talk to, cuddle, and play with their babies, according to the findings of a new study following more than 8,500 families and their babies born in England between September and November 2021. 

• 32 per cent of today’s primary caregivers were on parental leave from their job when their child was nine months old, compared to just 2.5 per cent of primary caregivers 20 years ago. 
• Compared to parents raising children two decades ago, today’s caregivers are more likely to be educated to degree level or higher (50 per cent v 33 per cent), and employed (71 per cent vs 51 per cent).  

• 25 per cent of families with nine-month-olds had experienced significant financial strain, such as having difficulties managing finances, not keeping up with bills, being unable to afford essential baby items, and having to skip or cut the size of meals. 
• Today’s parents are less likely to own their home (50 per cent v 64 per cent) and more likely to rent (42 per cent vs 31 per cent) than parents two decades ago. 
• 47 per cent of today’s parents own their home with the help of a loan or mortgage, and 3 per cent of families own their home outright. Among those renting when their babies were nine months, 24 per cent rented from a private landlord, 10 per cent from a local authority, and 8 per cent from a housing association.  

• 43 per cent of families were using some form of regular childcare when their babies were nine months. Of these families, most were using informal childcare provided by relatives or friends. However, one in eight were using formal childcare such as day nurseries or childminders. 
• Parents on the highest incomes were almost six times as likely to use formal childcare (23 per cent vs 4 per cent) than those from the most disadvantaged homes. 
• They were also more likely to use informal childcare (40 per cent vs 31 per cent), mainly from grandparents and other relatives and friends. 

• 72 per cent of parents said their nine-month-olds spent some time watching television, videos or screens every day. On average, children who watched screens typically did so for an average of 41 minutes a day, however 7 per cent of babies had more than two hours of screen time per day and 28 per cent had none at all. 
• Children of the 2020s is one of the first and largest studies to measure screen time in infancy. 

• At nine months, those who often played turn-taking games, like peek-a-boo, with their caregivers understood five more words, on average, than babies who did these things least. Similarly, those who were read to several times a day understood four more words, and babies who engaged in frequent physical play understood three more words, on average. 
• While the researchers caution they do not yet know whether these babies that understand more words at nine months will continue to progress more quickly, the findings are in line with other evidence that play in infancy and early childhood can improve long term language and cognitive development.