A selection from a conversation
we had at a family's home
Parent 2: Yeah, it's a bit like... Two kids are actually three or something. It's not easy to find time to do everything. We have each other... in addition to the children, we also have our work and home, so there is always something to do.
Researcher: Yeah, it's a bit of rush hour all the time.
Parent 2: The day is busy. They don't sleep at the same time.
Parent 1: It's starting to happen a bit now, in the last few weeks.
Parent 2: A little bit.
Parent 1: That they kind of have the same rhythm, or that he sleeps when she sleeps too. But yes, sometimes he does it a bit in his own way.
Researcher: Yes, of course. And he probably sleeps for a while in the morning.
Parent 1: He sleeps again in the morning. So now it's starting to get a little more rhythmic, but the first few months are of course very difficult because he doesn't really have a rhythm yet. We couldn't really tell, he sleeps from two to three or so. With Tessa you can decide that for her to some extent.
Researcher: And in the evening? Do you really have evenings or is there a child awake all the time?
Parent 1: No, actually it's ready from eight o'clock, half past eight. He always goes to bed first, he sleeps around seven, half past eight. And then Tessa goes to bed.
The interview
The conversation
During the conversations we are interested in how new parents and/or caregivers of a first child deal with health, healthcare, nutrition, exercise and sleep, and how these daily practices are embedded in the social and cultural context. In interviews with families at home or in the neighborhood, we ask about bottlenecks and positive things that parents experience and how they deal with them. We also take into account how parents react to situations that, according to themselves, acquaintances or healthcare professionals, are desirable or undesirable, healthy or unhealthy. The research is carried out by the University of Amsterdam and is part of Sarphati Amsterdam, in collaboration with the GGD.
Proceeds from our research
Our research can contribute to a better understanding of parents and caregivers and can lead to an exchange of practical tips for caring for a young child. We can also advise the GGD in their work to address and prevent children's health problems in the long term. The benefit for healthcare is that it becomes clearer how parents with different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds deal with care, upbringing and daily routine in daily life and what their own perspective on this is. You will receive a gift card per interview of 20 euros. We hear from parents that they enjoy talking about their child and what they experience as a parent(s).