• 1 | Children in lone-parent families, those with younger mothers and those in more deprived areas saw their grandparents more often
• 2 | 13% of babies and 18% of toddlers had a long-standing illness
• 3 | Use of childcare was intrinsically linked to the employment status of household adults
• 4 | Parental health and well being shapes the experiences of young children
• 5 | The varying circumstances of children can help or hinder their development
• 6 | More than half of children had played outdoors in the week prior to interview
• 7 | Parent's use childcare in the context of social networks
  
• 8 | Increase in the use of multiple childcare providers and the time children spend in childcare
• 9 | Pre-school children's healthy and unhealthy eating
  
• 10 | Non-resident parenthood in Scotland
• 11 | Effects of multiple childcare use on child outcomes
• 12 | What families think about their neighbourhood
  
• 13 | Cognitive ability varies according to soci-demographic factors

There are several sources of support that parents draw on in relation to parenting and childcare or for information and advice about child-related issues.

Particular attention is given to sources of informal support and, especially, to the issue of grandparenting. Indeed, results showed that most children had some contact with all of their grandparents.

Children in couple families, those with older mothers, those living in less deprived areas and those in remote rural areas were more likely to have some contact with all of their grandparents.

However, children in lone parent families, those with younger mothers and those living in more deprived areas saw their grandparents more often. (From Year 1)

We examined the health of babies and toddlers, any longer-term illnesses and disabilities they may have, as well as illnesses and accidents which have resulted in contact with NHS services.

We also presented information on a limited number of child development milestones and parents' concerns about these.

Results showed that the vast majority of parents perceived the general health of their baby/toddler to be good or very good, with 13% of babies and 18% of toddlers having a long-standing illness.

Around eight in ten babies and seven in ten toddlers had experienced at least one health problem that required contact with the NHS, with a quarter of toddlers requiring NHS treatment/advice as a result of accidents. (From Year 1)

The cost, type, mix, duration, preferences and reasons for use of childcare (for both the baby and toddler cohorts) vary according to parents' socio-economic circumstances and attitudes towards employment and childcare.

Overall, 65% of respondents used childcare.

Parents of children in the toddler cohort were more likely to be using childcare than parents of babies (76% compared with 60%).

Use of childcare was intrinsically linked to employment status of household adults. The proportion of families using childcare was higher in cases where at least one of the child's carers was employed and particularly high when the child's mother was working. (From Year 1)

Parental health and well-being are important in shaping the early experiences of young children, including their health and development.

The GUS study, in addition to measuring the health and well-being of the children involved, also assesses, through a series of self-completion questions, the physical and mental health of their parents.

This section explores the general health of parents and the prevalence of long-standing illness, parents' health-related quality of life and their smoking, drinking and drug use. (From Year 1)

This chapter looks at how the circumstances of children in the early years vary in terms of the households, neighbourhoods and communities they live in. These circumstances matter because they have the potential to help or hinder child development, either directly ( e.g. through the impact of poor housing on health) or indirectly via the extent to which the child's parents are socially integrated and otherwise secure. They also matter because they affect the availability of and access to local services. Data were collected on a range of issues related to housing and accommodation, facilities and services in the local area and involvement in the community. (From Year 2)

The home environment is important in supporting social development and early education and therefore influences the life chances of children. Data are collected on a range of activities, including social visits and contacts, reading and educational activities, art activities, singing and outdoor activities. We are also able to see how computers and TVs are being used in households with young children. Respondent satisfaction with the range of activities is also reported. Findings included more than half of children had played outdoors in the week prior to interview, and most children had looked at books everyday and watched some TV everyday. (From Year 2)

Building on the results from Year 1, but focusing more on parents' wider informal social networks of family and friends, we looked at how these networks are related to parents' access and use of informal support for help with childcare, and parents' assessment of how well that support meets their needs. WE also looked at more formal sources of support, such as parenting classes, professionals in health and welfare services, how service access and use varies, and parents' views about the formal support they use. (From Year 2)

We examined parents' childcare mix, and how this varied by socio-economic circumstances, the cost of childcare, its ease, flexibility and dynamics across a number of years. Childcare preferences and the degree to which those preferences are achieved were also examined. Finally, we looked at the extent to which parents work in family friendly settings and their employers support satisfactory work-life balance, and how this varies by parents' socio-economic circumstances. Results included an increase in both cohorts in the use of multiple providers and in the average time children spent in childcare. (From Year 2)

We explored issues relating to food and activity specifically in relation to young children. Although more limited in scope than dedicated diet and nutrition studies, GUS is able to provide useful information on the range of food types - both healthy and unhealthy - eaten by pre-school children on a typical day. Moreover the study has the additional benefit of including a suite of questions designed to examine parental views and experiences in relation to their children's eating. In combination these allow for the exploration of choice, behaviour and experiences in early years provision and consumption of food across socio-economic groups. (From Year 3)

We examined the prevalence of, and issues related to, non-resident parenthood in Scotland. In particular we looked at the dynamics of non-resident parenthood, particularly contact with the non-resident parent and how this contact, and other major decisions about the cohort child, were negotiated.(From Year 3)

We use data from the first three years of GUS to explore families' experiences of using childcare for children under the age of five years. The series provides an unparalled source of evidence to improve our understanding of early years childcare provision from the perspective of parents. We focused particularly on families' use of multiple childcare providers, examining the nature and extent of multiple use and the potential effects of early multi-provider care on later child outcomes at age 34 months and 58 months. (From Year 3)

We looked at families' experiences of living in Scotland's neighbourhoods, their views on different aspects of the local area and the relationship between area characteristics and parenting behaviours. We examined the availability and use of local facilities amongst parents and their perceptions of the quality of these services. Respondent's general perceptions of the area where they lived were also explored, in order to gauge how satisfied they were with their area. Perceptions of safety were also discussed. The availability of informal social networks and social support was explored, as were parental perceptions of how 'child-friendly' their local area is. (Year 3)

Using data from the first three years of GUS we explored differences in children's cognitive ability. Assessments of children's language development (using a naming vocabulary task) and problem solving skills (using picture similarities tasks) were carried out at age 34 months. Parents were asked questions to find out what they thought of those activities. We discovered that activities varied across socio-demographic groups and that cognitive ability scores are associated with socio-demographic factors. We differentiated between the influences that socio-demographic factors and activities have on cognitive ability.(From Year 3)