Celebration of special occasions

Analysis of the materials from the child consultations suggested that special events

and gift-giving were important to 3-year-olds. The parents who took part in focus

groups also made multiple references to special events, especially in the approach to

Christmas. It may be that an existing question on celebrating special occasions as

part of the material deprivation set of items will be sufficient to address this topic. If

not, consideration should be given to a single question – possibly with a graduated

set of response options rather than just yes/no.

Recommendation for Cohort 24 at 3 years:

•If not already part of the items on material deprivation, add a single question on whether the family celebrates special occasions such as birthdays – preferably with a wider set of response options than yes/no.

Chapter 6: Methodological Considerations