Press Statement Growing up in Ireland Survey 2024

Have your chance to help shape the future of children in Ireland 

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is today (20 September 2024) launching a new cohort within the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) survey, which is one of the most important and substantial research initiatives about children in Ireland.  

The GUI is a crucial, national longitudinal study of children that follows them as they grow up in Ireland and tracks the challenges and opportunities they face. Since 2008, the study, which was previously conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has followed the lives of more than 19,000 children and young people through two different cohorts: those who were aged nine in 2007/2008 (Cohort ’98) and those who were aged nine months in 2008/2009 (Cohort ’08).  

The new baby cohort will be known as Cohort ’24. In the 16 years since the GUI last randomly sampled families with new babies to take part in the study, there have been significant social, economic, and policy changes in Ireland. The GUI survey will provide essential data on the extent to which these changes affect child development, inform the creation of responsive, child-focused policies, and improve the potential delivery of services for children and their families in Ireland.   

Jennifer Banim, Director General of the CSO, said: “Growing up in Ireland will be one of the most valuable surveys undertaken by the CSO as it captures the experience of parents and children growing up in Ireland and the impact of societal changes. The survey helps highlight changes such as how much time children spend playing outdoors or how families and children have responded to the challenges of mobile phones and social media, or changes in mental health. The data provided by the Growing up in Ireland survey has already had a significant influence on childhood studies and polices, such as the free early care and pre-school education of children in Ireland. I would encourage any household randomly selected to take part to use this invitation as an opportunity to shape future childhoods in Ireland.”   

Katie O’Farrell, Senior Statistician with the CSO’s GUI team, said: “Growing up in Ireland is a unique survey because not only is it a study of children, but the children themselves become active participants in the survey throughout the years, and the results will help shape the future of the next generation of children. Essentially, it is a study of children, with children, for children.  

Today we are launching a new longitudinal birth cohort, meaning we will follow this same group of children over time. We’re asking families to take part when their baby is nine months old.  Experiences in infancy are so important for shaping a child’s future. We are interested in capturing details of the most important influences in the first year of your baby’s life. We will be able to track the contribution of those first beginnings through early childhood and beyond.   

To the 15,000-16,000 families with new babies that have been randomly selected to take part, your time and contribution to this survey is so valuable. I would strongly encourage any family that has been invited to take part to get involved in this unique chance to be the voice of children’s experience of growing up in Ireland. By taking part, you are helping to shape the future for our children.”   

Findings from Growing Up in Ireland Surveys Through the Years

Cohort ’98 At Age Nine (survey conducted in 2007/’08)  

1. Just under 45% of nine-year-olds in 2007/’08 had a mobile phone. By the time they turned 13, 59% had access to the internet via mobile or other mobile device, while 40% had internet access to a PC or laptop in their bedroom.  
2. Children were asked to complete the sentence: ‘The thing that makes me most happy is . . .’ The most popular overall answer was ‘family’ (24%), closely followed by ‘friends’ (22%) and ‘sport’ (20%).  
3. Vacuuming / cleaning was the most widely performed household chore by nine-year-olds.  

Cohort ’98 At Age 17/18 (survey conducted in 2015/’16)  

1. One-in-ten young people in 2015/’16 reported they had been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, or both.  
2. A third of all 17/18-year-olds who were still in school had part-time jobs.  
3. The majority of 17/18-year olds (80%) had their first drink between the ages of 15 and 17.  

Cohort ’08 at Nine months of Age (survey conducted in 2008/’09)  

1. Most mothers (59%) had intended to become pregnant at the time the baby was conceived while 10% had no intention of ever becoming pregnant.  
2. Almost 40% of nine-month-olds were in some form of non-parental childcare at the time of interview (defined as at least eight hours per week on a regular basis)  
3. Almost 90% of mothers said they were in regular contact with the infant’s grandparents. Grandparents were most likely to buy toys or clothes for the infant (96%), babysit (81%), and take the infant out (54%).  

Cohort ’08 at Age Nine (survey conducted in 2017/’18)  

1. Almost three-quarters (70%) of nine-year-olds saw their grandparents at least once a week with 88% saying they had a close relationship with at least one grandparent.  
2. In 2017, 23% of nine-year-olds had an online profile. Boys’ profiles were largely related to computer gaming and girls’ profiles were more often related to social media.   
3. The majority of nine-year-olds said they ‘always’ or ‘sometimes’ liked school and school subjects. Attitudes were broadly positive to Reading (62%) and Maths (48%), but less positive in relation to Irish (22%).  

Cohort ’08 Aged 13 years (survey conducted in 2021/’22)  

1. Nearly all 13-year-olds had their own smartphone (98%).  
2. More than half of 13-year-olds liked school ‘very much’ or ‘quite a bit’ and most of the remainder liked it ‘a bit’.  
3. Travelling to different countries at 32% was the most popular aspect of adulthood that 13-year-olds were looking forward to, followed by living in their own place (18%).  

Learn more about GUI results on growingup.gov.ie  

Gallery

Central Statistics Office (CSO) launch first new national infant cohort for Growing up in Ireland Survey in 16 years.

Growing up in Ireland is jointly managed by the CSO and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration & Youth. The CSO will be asking 15,000-16,000 randomly selected families of nine-month-old babies to take part in this hugely significant national survey. Find more information at growingup.gov.ie