Confession: I am a total research geek. Every one of my children has been involved in some sort of scientific study or another.
So when I came across this flyer on Facebook, I was intrigued:
Signing Up
A few days later, Sarah from CAP Lab emailed me back. She explained that they were looking to enroll in a new study called iLearn. Over the course of 2 years, my little Baby Scientist would play different games and we’d see how he performed. The goal was to eventually see if early learning serves as a predictor of language and cognition at age 2.
In return, my baby would get some cool swag, the most adorable certificate, and also $25 (we totally called it his first paycheck and put it in his college fund). They also offered to watch my older daughter while I went with Baby Scientist to play the games. Lab visits were only about 45 minutes long, and would take place in the Waterbury lab.
I emailed back that I was interested, and we answered some screening questions to see if we qualified.
We did, so we scheduled our first appointment for the day after he turned 6 months. The only request was that we schedule it at a time when he’d be happy and not super fussy (so after a nap and a feed, for example).
UCONN Waterbury Campus- Photo from UCONN CAP Lab.
The Experiment
When the day came, we drove down to UCONN Waterbury. I was a little worried about parking, but they literally had someone with a sign waiting to greet us. They gave us directions and had even blocked off a parking spot just for us.
We unloaded, and our new friends helped us up to the CAP Lab. We got settled, my daughter was won over with toys and snacks, and we got started. Up first was consent forms- we talked about the risks and benefits of the study (mostly, the risk was that Baby Scientist might get cranky, and the benefit was that we’d be contributing to the scientific community), and I signed a bunch of forms.
Fun fact: all university studies have to go through a process called IRB approval to make sure that the research happening is ethical and won’t actually hurt anyone. They take this really seriously, and even though it seemed a little silly to spend time talking about how looking at Thomas the Train might make my baby fussy, I’m glad we did it. It helped me feel better about the whole process.
Then it was off to the lab while older daughter enjoyed tons of individual attention from a sibling sitter. They drew pictures, ate snacks, and just had an all around fantastic time.
The experiment itself was super cute- Baby Scientist was fussy at first, but we were able to take a quick break to eat, and then he jumped back in with enthusiasm.
HIs job mostly involved waving his hands at Thomas the Train and making noises at some things on a TV screen. I got to hold him throughout the experiment- it was super, super relaxed.
Photos from Project Bubbles– Another CAP Lab Favorite!
Up Next
When Baby Scientist decided he was done, we got some awesome SWAG- a cute little bib, a certificate, and a picture frame magnet. We also got $25, which was officially his very first paycheck.
We headed home, and I had one more survey to fill out. It was very quick and took place entirely on mobile.
We’ll have a few more studies to go back for- 9 months, 12 months, 18 months, and the final visit at 24 months of age. I can’t wait to see how much he grows!
Does your Baby/Kid Scientist want to participate?
Head on over to CAP Lab to Learn more! Or, reach out to [email protected] .
