Wanted: diary of a toddler, aged two

Researchers in Manchester are on the hunt for a toddler and his stay-at-home mum or dad to take part in a diary study to shine light on language development.

Staff at the new Max Planck Child Study Centre in Manchester University's department of psychology are studying how children develop language and grammar and want to recruit a first-born child, close to his or her second birthday, and one of the child's parents.

The parent will become a salaried researcher, with the job of keeping a daily diary of the child's most interesting utterances. They will also be asked to cassette record the child's speech on a daily basis for a year, and to video record the child on a weekly basis.

The centre is seeking to build a detailed account of how children construct their grammars between the ages of two and three.