Child Barometers study the everyday lives of 6-7‑year‑old Finnish children. The surveys are conducted by the Office of Ombudsman for Children. The objective of the barometers is to investigate the children's own experiences on topics that are relevant to them. Depending on the target population of each survey, the respondents have been either the children themselves or both the children and their parents. The first barometer was conducted in 2016, after which data have been collected every other year.
The study surveyed Finnish six-year-olds' well-being and ideas of good life. The data were collected during the coronavirus pandemic.
The respondents were asked whether they liked going to preschool, whether they liked being at home, whether adults spent enough time with them, how often they received praise and whether they sometimes felt afraid. The open-ended questions (only available in Finnish) charted why the respondents liked or didn't like preschool and home, what they received praise for, what they were afraid of, what they thought was a good place for a child to live in, what made them happy, what they would have wished for from a fairy godmother and what a child needed to feel good and comfortable.
Background variables included the respondent's gender, region and major region of residence as well as the number of parents/guardians and children in the household, parents' education level and financial situation of the household.
The sample was randomly selected from the population system of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, containing Finnish and Swedish-speaking households in mainland Finland with at least one child aged six. The data collection was targeted at children whose mother tongue was either of the official languages, Finnish or Swedish. Only people with a permanent address in the population system who had not applied for a direct marketing restriction or a non-disclosure for personal safety were included in the sample. The sample size was 5,000, but phone numbers could only be found for 1,800 persons. The information letter about the study was sent to these households. Interviews were conducted with 378 Finnish-speakers and 24 Swedish-speakers.