Testing with Children and Infants

Capping and Testing With Young Children (2-7 years old)

The most important thing is to distract the child and act quickly if they are calm, and try to minimise their attention to the tester and the equipment. To distract the child, you can have a video or cartoon playing on the screen or give a toy to play with. More nervous children might benefit from progressively introducing the cap and the gel to them: first, play a video on the screen and have the cap lying on the desk, just within their peripheral view. Progressively, start to move the cap closer, hold it in your hands and play with it, wear it yourself if necessary. Some children might be a little sensitive to the gel, mostly because it is cold at first touch (then it gets warmer), so the tester should warn them with a sentence similar to 'now you'll feel tiny little fresh drops'. Avoid saying they'll feel 'cold', but use words as 'fresh' 'refreshing' instead, as coldness might sound a bit scary to them. If they are still bothered by the gel, putting a tiny bit on their finger or the parent’s finger usually does the trick. Promising and receiving a sticker at the end of the capping is very rewarding for them. With the youngest we have tested (below 1 year), we have piloted to pre-gel the cap before putting it on and it worked quite well as they have very little and thin hair. 

Capping and testing with older children (from 8 years old on)

Explain to them what you are going to do, and why. Some children are into science (or, if not science, science fiction), so you can explain to them that the brain response to the face of other people is very unique and it is something that makes us 'human'. And, with the tiny yellow box, you are able to record such an amazing feature! But, they need to do their part, and try to be still, and look at the faces on the screen even if it is boring, because the brain response is tiny - it's not like a lightning or a thunder. If they are curious, you can promise them that you will show their brain activity on the laptop screen at the end. You can make them blink, talk and swallow and show how the eeg signal changes. Regardless of the child's interest in science, you can always explain to them that some part of the battery is going to be boring, because it needs to be the same also for small children, so it can't be too complex for them. But, it's not all boring, so they should try to be patient with the boring parts, and they will be rewarded by watching a cartoon of their choice (during the auditory tasks). If the child is still not very compliant during the tasks, you can try to reassure (say things like 'it's only a couple of minutes more' or 'it has not been 10 minutes yet, not tired already?'), praise ('you have been so good! best participant ever, go on like that!'), and always ask them to look at the screen as many times as you need. Don't feel bad about that, the task feels long because it is repetitive but it is not really - just about 6 minutes in total. Always motivate them to wait for the cartoon that they have chosen. If they are restless, they can have a break. Explain to them that they should try to be still, calm and focused during the task, but they can relax and have a small break when they see the bouncing star. Knowing that they do not have to keep continued attention for long but regular breaks are included usually helps them manage their attention. You can promise/offer a small gift for making it through half of the battery and to the end. Stickers are usually a gift that they appreciate. You can use age appropriate stickers, for example for older kids (12-13 years old), you can choose stickers representing realistic dinosaurs, video game characters, and unicorns. Do not let them see all the stickers that you have.