Participating in our studies is fun. You and your baby will be watching, listening or doing entertaining things. Besides being a fun activity, your participation is essential for learning about infants’ development – you and your baby are contributing to science! The studies we conduct in our labs can have further impact on knowledge and policy related to children’s upbringing, childcare and education.

A visit to the Babylab takes about 30 minutes. Some of our studies can be slightly longer or shorter but we always take into account your baby’s attention span and mood.

You can fill out the form on the Sign up page or you can also email us at babylab@fsw.leidenuniv.nl.

Each of our study investigates babies at a specific age or age range. Typically, they are between 6-24 months but there are expectations. You can sign up at any age of your baby. We will contact you with details of the studies when your baby reaches the specific age.

Yes, you'll always stay with your baby during our studies.

You can be reimbursed for travel expenses and your baby will receive a diploma and a booklet or toy as a thank you for participating.

In most of our studies we can show you your baby’s response (such as looking times, or eye movement patterns), however the results of a single baby are often not interpretable because we investigate group performance.

You can read about the results of our studies in which your child participated via the website in scientific publications. Your or your child’s personal data is of course not published.

Our studies take place in one of the two locations of our Babylab in Leiden. 

Information about the location ››

You can withdraw from participation at any time – even if you have already started it, without giving any reason. Participation is entirely voluntary!

After an appointment, once the experimental data is saved (anonymously), your baby’s data can no longer be traced to you and your baby personally and can therefore no longer be withdrawn. You will be properly informed about your participant rights with an information sheet at each study and have the opportunity to ask questions.

Before a study can begin, the detailed plans are first assessed by an independent Ethics Committee from either the Faculty of Social Sciences or the Faculty of Humanities. These committees are composed of fellow researchers from different disciplines. The proposed research is also evaluated by a privacy officer to ensure your data protection is built into the research plan.

In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of 2018 your data is confidential and treated with the utmost care for your privacy. We store two types of data: your personal contact details, and after an experiment, the data of that experimental session.

When you sign up to be included in our contacts list, your data will be registered in a secure participant database. That list is only accessible by a limited group of authorized Babylab researchers. The list of authorized researchers is regularly reviewed. You may withdraw your inclusion in our contact database at any time. In addition, you will be contacted when your child reaches the age of five years old and asked whether you would like to unsubscribe from our database.

The research data resulting from experimental sessions is saved separately from your contact details. The data is stored anonymously only with a code which is not traceable to your name or your child’s name. The consent form you sign during the study is kept in a safe place until the research is finished. Afterwards the forms will be destroyed in a safe way.

An independent staff member is assigned to each study to whom you can submit a complaint. You will receive contact information for this person when we contact you for participation in a study.