Baby-Denkimpulse: The Project
About the project
A child’s development is significantly influenced by what the child experiences in their everyday environment—especially during the first months and years of life. Here at “Baby-Denkimpulse,” we are particularly interested in finding out how various parent-child activities, such as making music and playing together, influence cognitive development.
Who is this research project aimed at?
The project is aimed at parents and their infants, who will be 5 to 6 months old at the start of the project. Registration is currently open for infants born between mid-July and mid-September 2026. Participants should not already be enrolled in a parent-child program such as baby music classes, PEKIP, or DELFI. The participation is only possible in German.
Project Timeline
Getting to Know Each Other
When your child is 5–6 months old, we’ll visit you and your child at home to get to know each other. During this visit, you’ll fill out two short questionnaires. Answering these questions takes about 10 minutes. We’ll also conduct a brief developmental assessment with your child.
Visits at the University
When your child is about 6–7 months old, we’ll invite you and your child to your first appointment at the university. There, we’ll do various playful activities with your child. The appointment lasts about 60 minutes. When your child is 10–11 months old and again when your child is about 17 months old, we’ll invite you to visit us once more.
Course Offerings for You and Your Child
After the first visit to the university, you and your child will either participate in a parent-child course twice a week for three months or continue with your usual daily routine without participating in such a program. There are music courses and play courses (similar to PEKIP or DELFI). Whether you and your child participate in a course—and which one—is determined by random selection. The programs are free of charge for all families. Families who do not participate in any course during the project period will receive a voucher for future course participation.