At each time point, participating children and their parents/guardians will be asked to wear a small activity watch known as an actigraph.
Parents will also be asked to collect saliva samples from their child once per week at each time point, totalling 6 days across the study.
With consent from their ECEC service providers, children will also be visited at their service to observe their daily activities and sleep environment (under educator supervision). One saliva sample will be collected from the participating child by either their educator or a researcher during the visits to their ECEC service.
During these ECEC visits, educators will also be asked questions about their perspectives on ECEC transitions and their observations of the participating child’s journey.
At each time point, participating parent/guardians will be asked to:
- Complete a survey and a 2-week sleep diary
- Wear an actigraph alongside their participating child
- Collect saliva samples from their child (one day per week)
Participating families will receive a $50 dollar gift voucher for their involvement in the study.
For more information, please read the First STEPS information booklet
