Neighbourhood

The neighbourhood or locality in which the child lives is a potentially important

influence on their development. The influence can be multi-faceted: from physical

characteristics such as green space and air quality, to the services and facilities that

are available, to the behaviour of other people in the community – which may be

positive (e.g., supportive neighbours) or negative (e.g. anti-social behaviour, littering).

At the age of 3 years, some of the child’s interactions with their neighbourhood will

be mediated through their parents (e.g., availing of services) but others, such as

access to parks, will be more direct. In Growing Up in Ireland, ‘local area’ has generally

been left to respondents to self-define; this means that the actual distance to, for

example, shops or a playground, might mean within walking distance for an urban

family or a 10-minute drive for a rural household. Information on the local area could

be collected solely from the primary caregiver.

Comparing the two surveys, there were more questions about the local

neighbourhood on the questionnaire for Cohort 24 at 9 months than Cohort 08 at 3

years. Partly, this was because the latter had been the second wave for that cohort

and it was anticipated that a majority of families would still be living in the same area

as the first wave. However, between household mobility and possible change in the

local area in a two-year period, it is unlikely that ‘forward feeding’ neighbourhood

information collected for Cohort 24 at 9 months will be a viable option.

Looking in more detail at the individual sub-topics, the only two used with both

Cohort 08 at 3 and Cohort 24 at 9 months were items referring to perceived safety

of the area (including safe play spaces), and being settled in the community. As well

as being important indicators of how content the family are in their community,

continuing these items for Cohort 24 at age 3 offers scope for both longitudinal and

cross-cohort comparisons.

Other sub-topics collected for Cohort 24 at 9 months included the quality of the

neighbourhood (e.g. litter), access to services such as a GP, schools, grocery shopping

and childcare. These two topics are as relevant to the child’s development at age 3 as

they were in infancy, and so should be continued.

The Cohort 24 at 9 months survey also included individual questions on whether the

primary caregiver had family and friends living in the area, and whether there was

someone who could mind the child when they went out. Again, these are still very

relevant to parenting a 3-year-olds and relate to the potential support network

available to the parent. The importance of the wider family network outside the

immediate household was also one of the topics emphasised in the expert

stakeholder consultations undertaken for this report.

There was an additional question on the Cohort 08 at 3 survey which asked the

parent if they intended to stay living in Ireland. This could be useful information both

cross-sectionally, and in terms of planning for future waves of Cohort 24; especially

as it is anticipated that the Cohort 24 sample will have proportionally more non-

national parents who may permanently move from Ireland.

Recommendations for Cohort 24 at 3 years:

•Repeat the questions on the local area as used with Cohort 24 at 9 months

•Add the question on intention to stay living in Ireland from Cohort 08 at age 3

Transport