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This newsletter now available in English, Arabic (العربية), Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ), Dari (دری), Punjabi (ਪੰਜਾਬੀ), Simplified Chinese (中文普通话), Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)! View GenV News on our website.
Winter GenV News 2025
Message from our Scientific Director
A warm winter hello from GenV! In this GenV News, you’ll find a sneak peek at survey findings, hear about a new ‘focus’ survey on foods for children, learn how you are helping to understand hearing loss, and more.
But first: every child grows in their own way. You’ve likely seen big changes already - how your child moves, talks, learns, plays and handles feelings. Step by step, these strands come together to help them be ‘ready for school’ by the late 2020s.
GenV is growing too. Your surveys, your samples, linked data, partner studies, and a safe place to store and use it all – these are GenV’s strands. By the late 2020s, they’ll form a powerful resource for discovery and action. Like childhood, this takes time, and every part matters. We’ll share more in future newsletters.
We were thrilled to be featured in the Herald Sun earlier this year with GenV mum Saada and her daughter Mya (aged 2). We caught up with them recently too. It’s a joy to hear how your little ones are growing, what matters to you as parents, and your GenV experiences.You can hear from Saada here.
And some big milestones: GenV families have now completed over 100,000 GenV and Me surveys and given nearly 10,000 child stool samples. A huge thank you! Everyone’s GenV journey is different, and families are busy - we appreciate every single GenV activity you do. Missed a survey? That’s okay - you can always do the next one.
We’re also pleased that the first GenV and Me survey is now available for families who joined in late 2020 and early 2021. It took longer than we hoped, but we’re excited to start hearing from you.
With best wishes,
Professor Melissa Wake - GenV Scientific Director
GenV and Me: What you told us...
GenV parents have filled out over 100,000 About You surveys. What an achievement!
Here is a preview of what parents told us when children were 6 months old:
- 85% of babies had tummy time every day. Tummy time can build a baby’s strength – it’s also great for sensory and visual development.
- About half of GenV babies were fed with breast milk only, 30% with infant formula only, and 20% with both breastmilk and formula.
Some parents told us our feeding questions didn’t reflect their experiences, so we changed them. We review all parent feedback – keep telling us how we can do better.
Want to tell us about your child's nutrition now?
We have just sent a one-off 'focus' survey - see below for details.
Baby and Child Food Survey
Food is an important part of our lives. Our supermarkets sell many ready-made foods for babies and young children - like pouches and snacks. We want to hear about your experience with these foods.
We recently sent a short ‘focus’ survey to you or your child’s other parent. It’s called ‘About Your Child’s Food’, and it’s separate from the usual GenV and Me surveys. Thank you if you have already done it. If not - we hope you can find time for it.
Your answers will help researchers learn:
- How and when families use store-bought baby and young children’s foods.
- What parents look for when selecting products - like ingredients, ease or cost.
- How these foods fit into children’s daily routines.
This may help inform new rules for how these foods are made and sold.
Learning from hearing data
Do you remember your child’s hearing screen when they were a baby?
The Victorian Infant Hearing Screening Program (VIHSP) screens 98% of babies soon after birth. GenV has connected with records from VIHSP. They have information like risk factors for hearing and results from screens. When joined with GenV data and samples, researchers can understand hearing loss better.
We hope this will help families like Jess and Koah. Koah’s big sister, Reggie, was born deaf, and Jess is a VIHSP hearing screener. Jess and her family joined GenV because …
“First of all, it was easy, but we also know how important data collection is. Hearing loss for us has had a big impact on our family. Having some answers for families is huge. If GenV can help with that, amazing!”
Stars of GenV - Shakiba
Inclusivity and diversity are at the heart of GenV. Meet Shakiba, who helps make this happen.
As GenV’s Cultural Diversity Project Officer, Shakiba is helping families from many cultures take part in GenV.
See our multilingual video for Cultural Diversity Week here!
Sibling surveys go live!
Did you know over 900 families have more than one child in GenV?
It’s taken a while to get our systems ready for two or more children. Now we can send a survey for each child and one for you. Do you have another child born between 4 Oct 2021 and 3 Oct 2023 - not in GenV?
Help us shape GenV
Join our Participant Advisory Panel here! Registration is now available in English, Arabic, Burmese, Dari, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, and Vietnamese.
Have questions or feedback? Changed your contact details? Please reach out to the GenV team at:
Phone: 1800 GEN VVV (1800 436 888)
Email: genv@mcri.edu.au
Website: www.genv.org.au
Keep up with GenV via our social media:
GenV is led from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), supported by The Royal Children’s Hospital and The University of Melbourne, and funded by the Paul Ramsay Foundation, the Victorian Government, The Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation, the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Medical Research Future Fund.
