New research has revealed that nearly half of New Zealand babies are being introduced to food earlier or later than is recommended putting them at greater risk for ongoing health issues including obesity, anaemia and growth and developmental issues. 

Young people from Growing Up in New Zealand’s Te Rōpū Pīata/Leading Lights are showing the way again in this country’s largest longitudinal study of child development. 

Growing Up in New Zealand is pleased and proud to introduce its new Research Director: Dr Sarah-Jane Paine.

Growing Up in New Zealand study explores whether there could there be a link between mothers taking paracetamol during pregnancy and their children exhibiting symptoms of depression.

New research has found toddlers who eat more vegetables are more likely to sleep better, while those that eat more fast foods, snacks and soft drinks are more likely to have disrupted sleep. 
 

The first-ever New Zealand study to examine what influences fathers’ decision-making to get their babies vaccinated on time recommends immunisation information is delivered to the entire family, not just mothers. 

One of the most comprehensive surveys ever-conducted with intermediate-aged Pasifika children aims to gather insights to paint a vivid picture of their lives, in particular the impact of Covid-19. 

Growing Up in New Zealand families experienced a high degree of movement between housing tenure and income bands during their child’s first four years of life.

Children have displayed strength in the face of adversity according to one of the world’s largest surveys looking at the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on children’s health, wellbeing and education.

New research has looked at the impact of health-related parenting behaviours, such as food, smoking, screen time and physical activity, on children in the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study.

Growing Up in New Zealand is offering participants the opportunity to complete their questionnaires in te reo for the first time. 

New Zealand’s largest longitudinal study of child development is about to launch the most comprehensive collection of data ever conducted with intermediate-aged children in this country. 

Mt Eden 12-year old Kanoa MacFie is a fluent te reo speaker, a passionate waka ama paddler, and a proud participant in this country’s largest longitudinal study, Growing Up in New Zealand. 

Provide feedback on how New Zealand is doing at protecting children's rights. 

Foundation Director, Professor Susan Morton, talks about how Growing Up in New Zealand research is translated into action to benefit child wellbeing in the real world. 

Growing Up in New Zealand researcher, Dr Jin Russell, works at the coalface of children’s health and says poverty has a major effect on childhood development as well as contributing to illness.

The first-ever study to look at anti-depressant use and symptoms of depression in pregnant New Zealand women has identified unmet need for  mental health support. 

New research reveals that a significant number of babies are not being fed in accordance with New Zealand’s infant feeding guidelines and this puts them at greater risk for childhood obesity. 

Māori and Pacific children face more barriers to seeing a GP than other children and those who face barriers are twice as likely to be hospitalised.

New research sheds light on how Kiwi pre-schoolers’ use of screen media may affect the development of executive functions which help children to manage their impulses and behaviour. 

How cold are Kiwi kids bedrooms?  Growing Up in New Zealand decided to find out and has identified the ideal indoor temperature and humidity range for good child health. 

New research using Growing Up in New Zealand information has examined mothers’ parental leave intentions, preferences and the actual leave taken after birth.

New University of Auckland research has found that newborns with lower levels of vitamin D are twice as likely to be admitted to hospital with acute respiratory infections during infancy.

Research finds that children born to teen mothers are less ready for school, but identifies protective factors that could combat the impact of childhood adversities on readiness for school. 

New research finds that a cluster of disadvantage contributes to injuries in early childhood, but better support to address material need and family stress could help. 

Growing Up in New Zealand is leading the way in working with its young participants to co-design new digital ways of collecting information which will then be analysed using machine learning. 

Growing Up in New Zealand’s long-time research director, Professor Susan Morton, is taking on a new role as Foundation Director of the study. 

Growing Up in New Zealand’s new interim research director is Professor Boyd Swinburn: a father and grandfather; a keen kayak fisherman; and a world-renowned public health researcher, with a passion for research that makes a difference in the real world. 

A new study has found that nearly half of families struggle to access healthy food in their child’s first year of life and this can have a negative downstream impact on children’s diets.

New research using Growing Up in New Zealand information looks at ethnic differences in the use and experience of child healthcare services and what informs decisions to immunise, seek dental care, and visit the doctor.

Growing Up in New Zealand has released its Now We Are Eight: Life in Middle Childhood report which provides a unique insight into the lives and experiences of eight-year-old Kiwi children. 

Growing Up in New Zealand participant says it's “pretty cool” that the study encourages adults to pay close attention to children’s lives and experiences.

New research using this country’s largest longitudinal study of child development has identified key behaviours to support pre-school children to develop self-control, a key indicator of adult wellbeing.  

The largest ever study of sleep in early childhood in New Zealand estimates that more than a third of toddlers and a fifth of preschoolers are not getting the recommended amount of sleep. 

Growing Up research found children who attend early childhood education have fewer emotional difficulties and better peer relations, but are more prone to illnesses.  

Growing Up in New Zealand has launched its Now We Are Eight: Life in Middle Childhood report.

The foods most associated with tooth decay in New Zealand children are white bread, fruit juice, refined breakfast cereals and sugar sweetened soft drinks.

Looking for things to keep your kids busy these holidays?  Check out what's happening in your local area. 

A new study has found significant use of Te Reo Māori among pre-schoolers, with 10 percent using it for everyday conversations and nearly 75 percent using at least some words.

Information for Growing Up in New Zealand participants on the special Covid-19 research project. 

The country’s largest longitudinal study is about to launch a new research project to discover how the Covid-19 “lockdown” has affected children in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Growing Up in New Zealand is boosting its team in preparation to go out to field to canvass the cohort on the cusp of adolescence. 

A list of helpful websites which may support you and your children to get through the Covid-19 pandemic and self-isolation.

Check out our guide to online activities for children to help your whole family get through Covid-19 self-isolation. 

We've compiled our favourite fee online TV streaming services for children.  Perfect to check out when you need a break from running around outside. 

A German researcher working with Growing Up in New Zealand is deep in to learning Te Reo and says exposure to the Māori world has changed her life.

A University of Auckland study has identified a key factor in protecting at-risk pre-school children from becoming overweight or obese and the elixir is sleep.

Check out our end-of-year update in which we take you on a fascinating journey to discover some of the amazing things we've learnt over the past 10-years. 

New research using information collected from Growing Up in New Zealand has identified several factors which are crucial to children’s early learning outcomes. 

Check out our book reviews from the lovely team at the Time Out Book Store in Auckland who have provided recommendations on the best books for 10-year-olds.

Dr Carin Napier comes to Growing Up in New Zealand all the way from South Africa and brings with her a passion for children’s nutrition.

The Growing Up in New Zealand double-digit club is expanding rapidly – as our study participants turn 10!

New research highlights the importance of primary healthcare for pregnant Pacific women in New Zealand – around a quarter of whom experience symptoms of depression during pregnancy. 

The country’s largest longitudinal study has found that girls, Pacific children and children born to older mothers have a unique genetic advantage that could potentially help them live longer. 

Growing Up in New Zealand’s senior research fellow, Dr Caroline Walker, has won an Auckland Medical Research Foundation (AMRF) award for her pioneering work examining New Zealand children's DNA. 

Evidence gathered from the Growing Up in New Zealand  study features in a just-released report looking at how childhood inequalities affect life outcomes.

The Growing Up in New Zealand team is currently hard at work collating the hundreds of thousands of pieces of data gathered from the field when the cohort children were eight-years-old.

Growing Up in New Zealand  warmly welcomes the Government’s announcement to allocate funding over the next three years to continue the country’s largest contemporary longitudinal study of child development.

New research using Growing Up in New Zealand data reveals a fascinating picture of mothers' participation in the workforce and their use of early childhood education services.

Check out the latest Growing Up in New Zealand newsletter here.

New University of Auckland research has examined whether Kiwi families are meeting national food and nutrition guidelines when feeding their babies.

Think again about a wood or coal fire if you have children – especially if your neighbours have domestic fires too.

Growing Up in New Zealand has today released its latest study report, Transition to school.

Growing Up in New Zealand has warmly welcomed today’s announcement from the Minister for Social Development, the Honourable Carmel Sepuloni, that it will restore funding of more than $1.9 million to the child development study.

Good nutrition-related behaviours early on can help establish healthy habits for life, but new research shows children are getting different messages about healthy eating from home and preschool.

New Zealand compares well with other developed countries when it comes to initiating breastfeeding, but New Zealand children are not being breastfed for as long as international guidelines recommend.

New evidence from New Zealand’s contemporary longitudinal study Growing Up in New Zealand shows how genes and the environment may interact to promote obesity.

Growing Up in New Zealand has released two further sets of “key findings” from the Who are today’s dads? research project, looking specifically at health and mental health.

Infant immunisations are more likely to be delayed if women receive information during pregnancy that discourages infant immunisation.

Evidence from the University of Auckland’s Growing Up in New Zealand study of child development links rental housing to a reduced number of safety features in the homes of young children.

Many Early Childhood Education centres serving food to children do not have menus that meet nutritional guidelines, according to research from the University of Auckland’s Centre for Longitudinal Research - He Ara ki Mua.

The latest report on the children of Growing Up in New Zealand was launched at a seminar in Wellington last week.

The latest report from the University of Auckland’s Growing Up in New Zealand study shows a rise in obesity levels in the preschool children in the study, but a significant gap between parental perception of weight and the reality of their child’s weight according to international classifications of BMI.

The latest report from the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study has just been released.

Almost all New Zealand children have taken antibiotic medications by the time they are five years of age according to new research from the University of Auckland’s Centre for Longitudinal Research – He Ara Ki Mua.

Depression symptoms among men before and after the birth of their children were identified by recent research from the University of Auckland’s Centre for Longitudinal Research – He Ara Ki Mua.

Gas heaters used for home heating have been found to increase the risk of respiratory illnesses in young children, according to the latest research from the University of Auckland.

Dr Jin Russell, a PhD candidate in the University of Auckland Centre for Longitudinal Research – He Ara Ki Mua, was recently recognised.

Superu Children and Families Research Fund has been launched to assist policy-relevant research using Growing Up in New Zealand external data.

Growing Up in New Zealand Director, Associate Professor Susan Morton was a keynote speaker at the Mana Rangahau Faculty of Education and Social Sciences Applied Research Conference 2016 at Manukau Institute of Technology and Otara Marae on 25 November.

Growing Up in New Zealand Director Associate Professor Susan Morton presented the international perspective when she spoke at the launch of the book “Cherishing All the Children Equally? Children in Ireland 100 Years on from the Easter Rising” in Dublin this week.

The first report from the Centre for Longitudinal Research study Who are today's dads? will be launched in Wellington this Friday 09 September.

Investigators at the University of Auckland Centre for Longitudinal Research He Ara ki Mua have been awarded close to $1.2 million (over three years) in the recently announced Health Research Council of New Zealand funding round.

Data from Growing Up in New Zealand study indicate that parents and young children are enthusiastic about including te reo Māori in developing language skills.

In a paper published this week in the journal Public Health, Centre for Longitudinal Research and Growing Up in New Zealand PhD student Sarah Gerritsen outlines the evidence-informed components of education environments that work to prevent obesity.

Guidelines are needed about screen time for children at daycare, according to new research from the University of Auckland.

Clinical practice, research, and mentoring all contribute to the professional role of the new head of Paediatrics at the University of Auckland, Associate Professor Cameron Grant who co-leads the Growing Up in New Zealand study.

Researchers from the Growing Up in New Zealand study have developed the first-ever Samoan and Tongan language inventories to formally gauge the language skills of New Zealand toddlers speaking Samoan or Tongan as their first language.

Aiming immunisation campaigns specifically at fathers-to-be could be a promising new approach to get more New Zealand children immunised on time suggests new research by the Growing Up in New Zealand study.

Most Early Childhood Education (ECE) services strive to encourage healthy eating among children but need stronger and more detailed nutrition policies to support change in everyday staff and parent behaviours. 

With the Growing Up in New Zealand children reaching school age, the study has launched its latest data collection wave to learn more about parents’ and children’s experiences with the move from early childhood education into primary schooling.

Negative messages about immunisation have a far greater impact on parents’ decision to delay vaccinations than encouraging information has on vaccinating children on time.

It has been established that exposure to alcohol can be harmful to the unborn child. Yet about one in five mothers-to-be continue to consume alcohol.

One in eight New Zealand women suffer from depression symptoms while pregnant, with Pacific and Asian women twice as likely to be affected.

Two decades after New Zealand introduced a choice-based model of primary maternity care, almost all mothers-to-be enrol with a carer early in their pregnancy and most are happy with the choice of carers available.

The use of te reo Māori is on the rise. More parents are speaking te reo to their infants, in comparison to their own childhood. 

Only one in five families whose toddlers were considered most at risk of vulnerability from birth accessed social support services in their first 1000 days of life.

Little is known about parents’ experiences of recent parental leave in New Zealand, including their preferences and realities.

It is always an important time for us when we complete a new round of interviews with our Growing Up in New Zealand families.

Over half of healthy New Zealand pre-school children are carriers of Staphylococcus aureus.

More than half of New Zealand mothers experience some level of hardship between late pregnancy and when their child is 9 months old and many parents have to cope with a drop in family income after having children.

Many private rentals fall short of being safe places to bring up a child suggests new research into household safety released by Growing Up in New Zealand.

Medical research from the Centre for Longitudinal Research into the factors contributing to serious skin infections in children has benefited from a funding boost by the Auckland Medical Research Foundation.

New Zealand families with children under two move house much more than previously thought and more often than families in other countries. 

Growing Up in New Zealand has approved access to its anonymised external datasets for three new projects submitted by the Ministries of Education and Social Development, and the Social Policy Evaluation and Research Unit (SuPERU) in cooperation with the Families Commission.

What do expectant mums and dads hope for their children? According to new research from Growing Up in New Zealand, a baby’s health and happiness may be high up on the list, but today’s parents want a lot more than that.

Kai time in ECE is a one-off online survey of managers of licensed ECE services in the Auckland, Counties Manukau and Waikato District Health Board (DHB) regions, collecting information about food, nutrition and physical activity practices and policies for 3-4 year olds.

Pregnant women who drink three or more servings of milk per day might put their babies at risk of being iron deficient during an important phase of their development, according to new research from Growing Up in New Zealand. 

Growing Up in New Zealand is the first longitudinal child cohort study to broadly generalisable to all contemporary New Zealand births, according to a scientific paper published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.

Routinely collected health data on pregnant women could be used in a better way to identify 'at risk' children earlier and more effectively, according to a new report from the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study released today.

High levels of mobility and the diverse environment of New Zealand families with young children challenge the way we provide education, health and social services, according to a new report from Growing Up in New Zealand released today

Harvard epidemiologist Professor Carlos A. Camargo has been appointed the new chair of the Expert Scientific Advisory Group for the Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) longitudinal study

A response to the Child Poverty Monitor 2013 Technical Report that was released 09 Dec 2013

Kai time in ECE is a one-off survey of all the managers of licensed Early Childhood Education (ECE) services in the Auckland, Counties Manukau and Waikato District Health Board (DHB) regions.

A response to the Health Committee report that was published 18 Nov 2013.

It is one of only six projects that have been awarded funding within the category of Health and Society.

The Centre for Longitudinal Research (He Ara ki Mua) has been launched by the University of Auckland. It provides an academic hub of expertise in life course epidemiological approaches to population health issues.

In-depth insights into the newest generation of New Zealanders are revealed today in a study which will follow more than 7,000 children for the next 21 years.