Purpose

Child of the New Century is recording the lives of the generation born at the turn of the millennium.

The purpose of the study is to understand the whole picture – of your lives individually, and of your generation as a whole.

When we understand what your lives are like, the government, healthcare workers, teachers, charities, social workers and others use the information to develop services and policies that support young people throughout their lives.

To understand the lives of your generation, we’re doing three important things.

1. We’re charting your whole life’s journey

Our experiences and circumstances in childhood can affect us for the rest of our lives. That’s why Child of the New Century wants to continue following you through your teenage years and well into adulthood.

2. We’re showing how all the different parts of your life fit together

One of the most important aims of the Child of the New Century is to prove how all the different aspects of life – health, wealth, education, family – are related to one another. That’s why we ask you questions about so many different things each time we visit.

3. We’re tracking how your life is different from generations before you

Child of the New Century is one of a special group of studies following different generations in the UK. Each study follows a group of people who are representing their generation – from the children of the 1940s to you, the children of the new century.

By comparing information across the different studies, we can see how life in the UK changes over the decades.