Parents
Information for Parents
As described on the lab home page, the SEAL Lab has various projects which involve children. Our projects involve children as they develop from infancy to adolescence. We also involve college students. However, they are enrolled through classes at SMU rather than through parents.
What's Involved?
Primarily, we conduct our projects in the SEAL Lab which is located in the Panowicz Foundry for Innovation and the E. L. Wiegand Laboratories building on the Saint Martin's University campus. Typically we meet parents at the adjacent parking lot and then walk to the lab where we explain the project to both the parent and child. If the parent signs a consent form and your child agrees (assuming your child is old enough to do so) we proceed with the activities.
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Sometimes projects involve only the child. For these projects, we have a room for parents to wait or observe. Alternatively, parents (and siblings if any) may decide to go out for a while and return at an appointed time.
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Other projects involve learning about how parents and children interact, for example, in playing with toys or in solving a puzzle. For these projects, parent-child pairs are in a room together (perhaps with an interviewer) and are sometimes videotaped.
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Most projects take between 30 minutes and an hour for one session, though sometimes they may be longer. For example, projects which involve a class-type element, may request that the child to attend sessions over the course of a short period of time. We arrange times so that they will be mutually convenient for families and lab assistants.
Interested in Participating?
Interested in participating in our research? We are always looking for families to contact for ongoing projects. Fill out the form below and we'll be in touch! If there is a particular project you are interested in being a part of, let us know! We will do our best to accommodate!