U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Issued December 2009

P70-118

INTRODUCTION

This is the fourth report examining children’s 

well-being and their daily activities both at 

home and at school based on data from the 

Survey of Income and Program Participation 

(SIPP). Since the SIPP data are now available 

for various years between 1998 and 2006, 

this report highlights trends in parental interaction with children, children’s participation in 

extracurricular activities, and school engagement. This report focuses on two outcome 

measures: (1) school engagement and (2) 

whether children are academically on-track. 

Further, it considers the relative importance 

of characteristics such as race, Hispanic origin, and parental education on those outcomes. 

The data in this report were collected by the 

U.S. Census Bureau from June through 

September 2006 as part of the child wellbeing topical module in the eighth wave 

(interview) of the 2004 Panel of the SIPP.1

 

The population represented is the civilian 

noninstitutionalized population living in the 

United States. The 2006 data were collected 

from a national sample of 12,755 “designated 

parents” (see definition box) and their 23,587 

children, which represented 73.2 million children living in households with at least one 

designated parent.2

1A description of the SIPP survey design and the wording 

of the questions on the child well-being topical module can be 

found at <www.census.gov/sipp/>. Since, this is the first time 

data collection for the child well-being topical module has 

taken place in the summer, there may be some minor comparability issues with prior surveys. 2The estimates in this report (which may be shown in text, 

figures, and tables) are based on responses from a sample of 

the population and may differ from actual values because of 

sampling variability or other factors. As a result, apparent differences between the estimates for two or more groups may 

not be statistically significant. All comparative statements 

have undergone statistical testing and are significant at the 90 

percent confidence level unless otherwise noted.

Designated Parent

Respondents in the Survey of 

Income and Program Participation 

(SIPP) child well-being topical 

module are parents of children 

under 18 years old. In households where both parents are 

present, the mother is the designated parent. Questions for each 

child are asked of the designated 

parent. If the mother is not available for an interview, the father of 

the child can give proxy responses for her. In single-parent families, the resident parent is the 

designated parent. If neither parent is in the household, the 

guardian is the designated parent. 

Designated parents include biological, step, and adoptive parents, and may also include other 

relatives or nonrelatives acting as 

a guardian for the child in the 

absence of parents. In this module, 96 percent of the children 

had a female designated parent, 

usually the mother. Data obtained 

from males who were the designated parent are included with the 

data from females. Respondents 

15 to 17 years old, who themselves may be parents, have their 

childhood well-being history 

reported by their parents when 

they live with them in the household. In this report, unless otherwise noted, the term parent is 

used to refer to the designated 

parent. 

A Child's Day: 2006

(Selected Indicators of Child Well-Being)

Household Economic Studies

Current

Population

Reports

Jane Lawler Dye

and

Tallese Johnson

U S C E N S U S B U R E A U

Helping You Make Informed Decisions
2 U.S. Census Bureau

television rules, compared with 

Black (63 percent) and Hispanic 

children (64 percent) (Figure 2).7

However, the percentages of Black 

and Hispanic children with all three 

Parents were asked if they placed 

any restriction on their children’s 

television viewing—rules about the 

type of program children could 

watch, the time of day (how early 

or late) the television was on, and 

the number of hours they could 

watch. Parental restrictions on 

watching television have increased 

in recent years. From 1998 to 

2006, the percent of children 3 to 

17 years old with all three television rules went from 55 percent to 

63 percent (Figure 1).6

 Older children were less likely to have all 

three restrictions placed on their 

television viewing compared with 

younger children (Table 1). About 

49 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds 

had all three television rules, compared with 72 percent of younger 

children age 6 to 11 years. NonHispanic White children (58 percent) 

were least likely to have all three 

PARENTAL INTERACTION 

Research shows that positive parental involvement has a direct influence on children, which results in 

fewer behavioral problems.3

 This 

section examines four indicators of 

the degree of parental involvement: 

(1) family television rules, (2) parents spending time talking or playing with children, (3) the extent to 

which parents praise their children, 

and (4) the number of days parents 

eat dinner with their children. 

Television Viewing

Numerous studies have pointed 

to an association between children’s television viewing habits 

and aggressive behavior.4

 Other 

research shows links between 

television watching and eating disorders among girls and junk food 

consumption.5

 While the SIPP data 

does not permit any correlations 

between television viewing and 

behavior, it does provide a measure 

of parental control over children’s 

viewing habits.

3 For more detailed discussions of the 

eff ects of parental involvement on children, 

see P.R. Amato and F. Rivera, “Paternal 

Involvement and Children’s Behavior Problems,” Journal of Marriage & the Family, Vol. 

61, No. 2, 1999, pp. 375–384 and T.M. Videon and C.K. Manning, “Infl uences on Adolescent Eating Patterns: The Importance of 

Family Meals,” Journal of Adolescent Health; 

Vol. 32, 2003, pp. 365–373. 4 A.C. Huston, E. Donnerstein, H. 

Fairchild, N.D. Feshbach, P.A. Katz, J. P.

Murray, E.A. Rubinstein, B. Wilcox and D. 

Zuckerman, Big World, Small Screen: The 

Role of Television in American Society, 

University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 

1992. R. Felson, “Media Eff ects on Violent 

Behavior,” Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 

22, 1996, pp. 103–128. J. Johnson, P. Cohen, 

E. Smailes, S. Kasen, J. S. Brook, “Television 

Viewing and Aggressive Behavior During 

Adolescence and Adulthood.” Science, New 

Series, Vol. 296, No. 5564, March 29, 2002, 

pp. 2468–71. J.P. Murray, “Media Violence: 

The Eff ects are Both Real and Strong.” The 

American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 51, No. 8, 

April 2008, pp. 1212–30. 5 C. Moriarty, K. Harrision, “Television 

Exposure and Disordered Eating Among 

Children: A Longitudinal Panel Study,” 

Journal of Communication, Vol. 58, No. 2, 

June 2008, pp. 361–81. H. Dixon, M. Scully, 

M. Wakefi eld, V. White, D. Crawford, “The 

Eff ects of Television Advertisements for Junk 

Food versus Nutritious Food on Children’s 

Food Attitudes and Preferences,” Social 

Science & Medicine, Vol. 65, No. 7, October 

2007, pp. 1311–23.

Figure 1. 

Percent of Children With Selected Indicators 

of Parental Involvement: 1998–2006

* 3–17 years old.

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Percent

Talk or play with parent many times per day 

Dinner together at least 5 days per week 

With all three television rules* 

Praised by parent many times per day 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, Panels 1996, 

2001, and 2004; Child Well-Being Topical Modules.

6 There is no statistical diff erence between 

2000 and 2003.

7 Federal surveys now give respondents 

the option of reporting more than one race. 

Therefore, two basic ways of defi ning a race 

group are possible. A group such as Asian 

may be defi ned as those who reported Asian 

and no other race (the race-alone or singlerace concept) or as those who reported Asian 

regardless of whether they also reported 

another race (the race-alone or in-combination 

concept). The body of this report (text, fi gures, and tables) shows data for people who 

reported they were the single-race White and 

not Hispanic, those who reported the singlerace White, those who reported the single-race 

Black, and those who reported the single-race 

Asian. Use of the single-race populations does 

not imply that it is the preferred method of 

presenting or analyzing data. The Census 

Bureau uses a variety of approaches. For more 

information, see the Census 2000 Brief Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin, 2000 

(C2KBR/01-1) at <www.census.gov/population

/www/cen2000/briefs.html>. Hispanics may 

be any race. Data for the American Indian and 

Alaska Native population are not shown in 

this report because of their small sample size 

in the SIPP. This report will refer to the Whitealone population as White, the Black-alone 

population as Black, the Asian-alone population as Asian, and the White-alone non-Hispanic population as White non-Hispanic.
U.S. Census Bureau 3

Meals

Research suggests that family dinners promote health, well-being, 

and positive youth development 

among adolescents.13 Higher scores 

on cognitive tests and fewer behavioral problems among 3- to 12-yearold children have also been linked 

to eating meals together.14 Child 

health, parent-child harmony, academic achievement, increased sense 

of personal identity, less stress in 

single-parent families, and better 

adjustment in children after a 

divorce are all reported to improve 

when families have meals together.15 

Frequency of family meals also 

and 45 percent of children 12 to 17 

years old spent time talking or playing with a parent three or more 

times in a typical day (Table 1). 

Figure 2 shows that non-Hispanic 

White children were the most likely 

to talk or play with a parent (53 

percent), compared with Black and 

Hispanic children (50 and 48 percent, respectively).11 

The percentage of children whose 

parents praise them three or more 

times per day showed a similar 

trend, increasing from 48 percent in 

1998 to 58 percent in 2006 

(Figure 1).12 While 75 percent of 

children under 6 years old were 

praised three or more times per day 

on average, only 42 percent of children 12 to 17 years old were 

praised that often (Table 1). There 

were no statistically significant 

differences among racial groups by 

praise from parents. 

Table 1. 

Parental Interaction With Children Under 

18 Years Old: 2006 

(Numbers in thousands) 

Type of interaction

Total

Age of child

Under 6 

years

6 to 11 

years

12 to 17 

years

Number of children . . . . . . . . . 73,212 24,428 23,664 25,120 

Percent with all three television 

rules1

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56.0 70.2 72.4 48.9 

Child talked or played with for 

fi ve minutes or more just for fun 

three or more times per day . . . 59.4 75.9 57.5 45.1 

Child praised by parent three or 

more times per day . . . . . . . . . 57.9 75.0 57.5 41.7 

Percent of children who ate 

dinner with a parent fi ve or 

more times per week . . . . . . . . 83.6 88.1 87.1 75.8 

1

 There were 16,517 children in the youngest age group, children 3 to 5 years old. Family television rules include which programs, how early or late, and how many hours children are allowed to watch 

television.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2004 Panel, Wave 8; Child 

Well-Being Topical Module. 

television rules are not statistically 

different from each other. Whether 

or not these television habits are 

related to children’s academic performance will be examined in subsequent sections.

Play and Praise

The amount of time parents and 

children spend together has 

increased in recent years, despite 

increases in women’s labor force 

participation.8

 Research shows that 

adolescents who feel close to a parent are less likely to smoke, drink 

alcohol, use drugs, be sexually 

active, and have suicidal thoughts. 

In addition, these children attain 

higher grade point averages and are 

more likely to intend to go to college.9

Parents were asked how often they 

talk or play with their child for 5 

minutes or more just for fun. The 

percentage of children and parents 

who talk or play together three or 

more times in a typical day 

increased from 50 percent in 1998 

to 59 percent in 2006 (Figure 1). 

Girls were more likely than boys to 

talk or play with a parent—61 percent compared with 58 percent.10 

Younger children were more 

involved with parents than older 

children. Seventy-six percent of 

children under 6 years old, 58 percent of children 6 to 11 years old, 

8 J.F. Sandberg and S.L. Hoff erth, “Changes 

in Children’s Time with Parents: United States, 

1981–1997,” Demography, Vol. 38, No. 3, Aug 

2001, pp. 423–436. Research suggests that 

quality time is defi ned as “time specifi cally set 

aside from normal daily routines for special 

family activities such as a vacation or . . . trip 

to a museum.” The same study found others 

who defi ned quality time as having “intimate 

heart-to-heart talks.” See K.A. Snyder, “A 

Vocabulary of Motives: Understanding How 

Parents Defi ne Quality Time,” Journal of Marriage and Family, Vol. 69, May 2007, 

pp. 320–340. 9 U.S. Council of Economic Advisors 2000, 

“Teens and their parents in the 21st century: 

An Examination of Trends in Teen Behavior 

and the Role of Parental Involvement,” Council 

of Economic Advisors White Paper, available 

on the Internet at <http://clinton3.nara.gov

/WH/EOP/CEA/html/Teens_Paper_Final.pdf>, 

accessed July 16, 2008. 10 See Detailed Table 5 available on the 

Internet at <www.census.gov/population

/www/socdemo/2006_detailedtables.html>.

11 The percentage of Black and Hispanic 

children whose parents talked with or played 

with them many times per day is not statistically diff erent. 12 The percentage of children whose parents praised them three or more times per day 

in 1998 is not statistically diff erent from 2000.

13 N. Zarrett and R.M. Lerner, “Ways to 

Promote the Positive Development of Children 

and Youth,” Research-to-Results Brief, No. 

2008-11, Child Trends, Washington, DC, 2008. 

M.E. Eisenber, R.E. Olson, D. Neumar-Sztainer, 

M. Story, L.H. Bearinger, “Correlations Between 

Family Meals and Psychosocial Well-Being 

Among Adolescents,” Archives of Pediatrics 

and Adolescent Medicine, Vol. 58, 2004, pp. 

792–796.

 14 S.L. Hoff erth and J.F. Sandberg, “How 

American Children Spend Their Time,” Journal 

of Marriage and the Family, Vol. 63, 2001, pp. 

295–308.

 15 B.H. Fiese, T.J. Tomcho, M. Douglas, 

K. Josephs, S. Poltrock, and T. Baker, “A Review 

of 50 Years of Research on Naturally Occurring Family Routines and Rituals: Cause for 

Celebration?” Journal of Family Psychology, 

Vol. 16, 2002, pp. 381–390.
4 U.S. Census Bureau

weekend in subjects like music, 

dance, language, or computers. 

Participation in religious activities 

includes attending a religious service, religious social event, or religious education class such as 

Sunday school.

Sports, Lessons, Clubs, 

Religious Activities 

Overall, participation in sports was 

the most popular extracurricular 

activity, regardless of the children’s 

ages. From 1998 to 2006, the percent of children who participated in 

sports increased from 34 percent in 

1998 to 41 percent in 2006 

(Figure 3). Children 12 to 17 years 

old were more likely to participate 

in sports than those 6 to 11 years 

old—45 percent and 39 percent, 

respectively (Table 2). Proportionately, more children participated in 

lessons in 2006, compared to 1998 

(31 percent and 28 percent, respectively). Children 12 to 17 years old 

were less likely to participate in lessons than those 6 to 11 years old 

(31 percent and 33 percent, respectively). In contrast to the previous 

two upward trends, participation in 

clubs declined between 1998 and 

2006 (34 percent and 31 percent, 

respectively). However, children 12 

to 17 years old were more likely to 

PARTICIPATION IN 

ACTIVITIES

Looking at how children spend their 

time outside the home, we turn to 

participation in extracurricular 

activities and religious activities. 

Research shows that children 

involved in extracurricular activities 

are less likely to engage in antisocial behavior and tend to score 

higher on standardized tests.18 In 

this report, data about participation 

in activities were limited to children 

6 to 17 years old and were based 

on parental responses to questions 

about children’s involvement in 

sports, clubs, and lessons, as well 

as religious activities. Participation 

in sports includes athletic activities 

sponsored by schools or by organized leagues. Clubs include Boy 

Scouts and Girl Scouts, religious 

groups, Girls and Boys Clubs, or 

4-H activities. Lessons were interpreted very broadly and included 

those taken after school or on the 

Figure 2.

Percent of Children 6 to 17 Years Old with Selected Indicators of Parental Interaction 

by Race and Hispanic Origin: 2006

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2004 Panel, Wave 8; Child Well-Being Topical Module.

With all three television 

rules Talk or play with parent 

many times per day

Praise by parent 

many times per day

Dinner together at least 5 

days per week

Hispanic

Asian alone

Black alone

Non-Hispanic

White

White alone

All

60.6

58.4

63.8

60.3

59.8

62.5

50.1

48.6

49.4

49.7

48.9

46.8

52.8

48.2

51.1

49.5

51.7

50.7

81.3

80.7

86.3

77.2

82.1

83.9

reflects cultural differences in families.16 One of the questions in the 

SIPP asks the number of days per 

week that designated parents eat 

dinner with their child on average.17

The percentage of children eating 

dinner with a designated parent five 

or more times per week changed 

very little—82 percent in 1998 

compared to 84 percent in 2006 

(Figure 1). Younger children were 

more likely to eat dinner with parents than older children. In 2006, 

88 percent of children under 6 

years old and 76 percent of children 12 to 17 years old ate dinner 

with a parent 5 days a week or 

more on average (Table 1). 

Figure 2 shows that among children 

6 to 17 years old, Hispanic children 

are more likely to eat dinner with a 

parent 5 days a week or more (86 

percent) than non-Hispanic White 

and Black children (81 percent and 

77 percent, respectively). 

16 Hoff erth and Sandberg, 2001, Ibid. 17 Authors’ tabulations found no signifi cant 

diff erence across regions in the United States 

in the percentage of children eating dinner 

with a parent. Some areas may refer to the 

mid-day meal as dinner and the evening meal 

as supper. Since the SIPP asks the number of 

days parents eat dinner with children, time of 

day or evening may be irrelevant.

18 A more in depth discussion is in 

J. Mahoney, “School Extracurricular Activity 

Participation as a Moderator in the Development of Antisocial Patterns,” Child Development, Vol. 71, No. 2, March/April 2000, 

pp. 502–516. Further information can be 

found in National Institute of Child Health 

and Human Development Early Child Care 

and Youth Development Research Network 

(NICHD), “Are Child Developmental Outcomes 

Related to Before- and After-School Care 

Arrangements? Results from the NICHD Study 

for Early Child Care,” Child Development, Vol. 75, 

No. 1, January/February 2004, pp. 280–295.
U.S. Census Bureau 5

SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT

Using three questions from the SIPP 

child well-being topical module, 

Child Trends developed the school 

engagement index.20 The questions 

children whose parent had a bachelor’s degree or more participated in 

religious activities once a month or 

more, followed by 64 percent of 

children whose parent had some 

college and 62 percent of children 

whose parent had a high school 

education or less.

participate in clubs than those 6 to 

11 years old (34 percent and 31 

percent, respectively). 

Research also suggests a positive 

association between religious activities and child well-being.19 A new 

question was added to the 2004 

SIPP Panel to attempt to measure 

the participation of children in religious activities. Table 2 shows that 

children 6 to 11 years old were 

more likely to participate in religious activities than children 12 to 

17 years old (68 percent and 63 

percent, respectively).

In general, children’s participation 

in extracurricular activities was 

associated with parents having 

higher levels of education (Figure 

4). Among children 6 to 17 years 

old whose parent had a bachelor’s 

degree or more, 58 percent were 

involved in sports, compared with 

32 percent whose parent completed 

high school or less. A similar pattern existed for participation in 

clubs, lessons, and religious activities. Forty-seven percent of children 6 to 17 years old whose parent had a bachelor’s degree or more 

participated in clubs, compared 

with 22 percent of children whose 

parent completed high school or 

less. Around 21 percent of children 

6 to 17 years old whose parent 

completed high school or less were 

enrolled in lessons, compared with 

50 percent of children whose parent had a bachelor’s degree or 

more. Seventy-three percent of 

Table 2. 

Participation of Children 6 to 17 Years Old in 

Extracurricular and Religious Activities: 2006

(Numbers in thousands) 

Activity

Age of child

Total 6 to 11 years 12 to 17 

Number of children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,784 23,664 25,120

Percent participating in:

 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42.3 39.1 45.3 

 Lessons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.9 33.0 30.9 

 Clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.6 31.1 34.0 

 All three after school activities . . . . . . . . . . . 11.7 11.5 12.0 

 Religious activities once a month or more . . . . 65.3 68.0 62.7 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2004 Panel, Wave 8; Child 

Well-Being Topical Module. 

Figure 3. 

Percent of Children 6 to 17 Years Old Involved 

in After-School Activities: 1998–2006

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, Panels 1996, 

2001, and 2004; Child Well-Being Topical Modules.

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1998 2000 2001 2000 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Percent

Sports 

Clubs 

Lessons 

19 L.J. Bridges and K.A.Moore, “Religious 

Involvement and Children’s Well-Being: What 

Research Tells Us (And What It Doesn’t),” Child 

Trends Research Brief, Washington, DC, 2002. 

M.J. Donahue and P.L. Benson, “Religion and 

the Well-Being of Adolescents,” Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 51, Summer 1995, 

pp. 145–60. A. Thornton and D. Camburn, 

“Religious Participation and Adolescent Sexual 

Behavior and Attitudes,” Journal of Marriage 

and the Family, Vol. 51, No. 3, August 1989, 

pp. 641–653. S.J. Jang and B.R. Johnson, 

“Neighborhood disorder, individual religiosity, 

and adolescent use of illicit drugs: a test of 

multilevel hypotheses,” Criminology, Vol. 39, 

No. 1, February 2001, pp. 109–43.

20 Child Trends is a nonprofi t research 

organization based in Washington, DC, 

<www.childtrends.org>. R. Wertheimer, K. 

Anderson, M. Burkhauser, “The Well-Being of 

Children in Working Poor and Other Families: 

1997 and 2004,” Research Brief, Child Trends, 

Septemeber 2008. See <www.childtrends.org

/Files//Child_Trends-2008_09_29_RB

_WorkingPoor.pdf>.
6 U.S. Census Bureau

ask the extent to which the following three statements are not true, 

sometimes true, or often true: 

(1) the child is interested in school 

work, (2) the child works hard in 

school, and (3) the child likes 

school. The school engagement 

index is the sum of the scores from 

zero to two for each question with 

“not true”=0, “sometimes”=1, and 

“often true”=2. Children who are 

highly engaged scored 6 on the 

school engagement index—the 

highest score possible.

In 1998, about half (52 percent) of 

children 6 to 17 years old were 

highly engaged in school (Figure 5). 

That proportion increased to a high 

of 59 percent in 2004, before 

declining to 55 percent in 2006.21 

Throughout the trend, younger children, those 6 to 11 years old were 

more likely to be highly engaged 

than older children, those 12 to 17 

years old.

Select Characteristics of 

Children Highly Engaged in 

School 

School engagement is associated 

with various socioeconomic characteristics (Table 3). Looking at school 

engagement by race and Hispanic 

origin, Asians were more likely to 

be highly engaged (71 percent) 

than Hispanic (59 percent), nonHispanic White, and Black children 

(54 percent each).22 Children with 

married parents were more likely to 

be highly engaged than children 

with unmarried parents—57 percent with married parents, compared with 52 percent with separated, divorced, or widowed parents, 

and 49 percent with never-married 

parents.23 Children whose parent 

Figure 4.

Percent of Children 6 to 17 Years Old Involved in AfterSchool Activities by Designated Parent's Education 

Level: 2006

* At least once a month.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2004 Panel, 

Wave 8; Child Well-Being Topical Module.

High school or less Some college or AA degree BA or more

Sports Clubs Lessons Religious activities*

31.7

22.4 20.8

61.8

43.2

57.9

33.9 31.9

64.1

46.9 49.7

72.7

21 The years 2000 and 2003 are not statistically diff erent from each other. Also, the 

years 2003 and 2006 are not statistically different from each other. 22 Non-Hispanic White and Black are not 

statistically diff erent from each other. 23 Single, divorced, widowed, and never 

married are not statistically diff erent from 

each other.

Figure 5. 

Percent of Children 6 to 17 Years Old Who Are 

Highly Engaged in School by Age: 1998–2006

Note: The school engagement index is a percentage of children who scored in the 

highest possible categories for the following three items: child's interest in schoolwork, 

degree that child works hard in school, and the extent to which the child likes school. 

Children who are highly engaged scored 6 on the school engagement index—the 

highest score possible.

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Percent

12 to 17 

6 to 11 

Total 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, Panels 1996, 

2001 and 2004; Child Well-Being Topical Modules.
U.S. Census Bureau 7

Table 3. 

Percent of Children 6 to 17 Years Old Who Were Highly Engaged in School 

by Selected Characteristics: 2006

(Numbers in thousands) 

Total 6 to 11 years old 12 to 17 years old

Number of 

children currently enrolledPercent highly 

engaged

Number of 

children currently enrolledPercent highly 

engaged

Number of 

children currently enrolledPercent highly 

engaged

Total 47,129 55.3 22,835 59.0 24,294 51.8 

CHILD CHARACTERISTICS

Sex

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,128 63.6 11,246 66.7 11,882 60.7 

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,001 47.3 11,589 51.6 12,412 43.3 

Race and Hispanic Origin

White alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,908 55.3 17,423 59.3 18,485 51.4 

Non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,557 54.3 13,084 58.3 14,473 50.6 

Black alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,322 53.9 3,436 56.2 3,886 51.8 

Asian alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,485 70.6 761 73.5 724 67.7 

Hispanic (any race) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,153 58.5 4,757 61.8 4,396 54.8 

Parental Interaction 

Praised three or more times per day . . . . 23,336 61.9 13,140 63.1 10,196 60.3

Praised less often . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,793 48.9 9,694 53.6 14,098 45.7

Talk or play with parent three or more 

 times per day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,210 61.0 13,173 61.7 11,037 60.1

Talk or play with parent less often . . . . . . . 22,918 49.3 9,662 55.4 13,256 44.9

All three television rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,372 58.9 16,493 60.5 11,879 56.6

Less than all three television rules . . . . . . 18,757 49.9 6,342 55.3 12,415 47.2

Eat dinner together 5 days per week 

 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,261 57.0 19,864 59.5 18,397 54.3

Eat dinner together less than 5 days 

 per week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,867 48.1 2,971 56.2 5,896 44.0

Activities 

Participate in sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,224 57.9 9,072 61.3 11,152 55.2

Do not participate in sports . . . . . . . . . . . 26,904 53.4 13,762 57.6 13,142 49.0

Participate in lessons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,236 62.7 7,632 66.5 7,604 58.9

Do not participate in lessons . . . . . . . . . . 31,893 51.8 15,203 55.3 16,690 48.6

Participate in clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,556 60.8 7,218 63.6 8,338 58.3

Do not participate in clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . 31,573 52.6 15,617 56.9 15,956 48.4

Attend religious activities once a month 

 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,869 58.2 14,146 61.4 13,723 55.0

Attend religious activities less than once 

 a month . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,259 51.1 8,689 55.2 10,570 47.7

School experience 

Ever changed schools1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,549 51.0 5,321 59.7 10,228 46.5

Never changed schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31,580 57.5 17,514 58.9 14,066 55.7

Ever suspended or expelled . . . . . . . . . . . NA NA NA NA 2,565 24.6

Never suspended or expelled . . . . . . . . . . NA NA NA NA 21,728 55.0

In gifted classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,091 69.7 3,091 73.3 6,000 67.8

Not in gifted classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,038 51.9 19,744 56.8 18,294 46.6

See footnotes at end of table.
8 U.S. Census Bureau

Total 6 to 11 years old 12 to 17 years old

Number of 

children currently enrolledPercent highly 

engaged

Number of 

children currently enrolledPercent highly 

engaged

Number of 

children currently enrolledPercent highly 

engaged

FAMILY AND PARENT 

CHARACTERISTICS 

Marital Status 

Married2

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32,670 57.3 16,204 60.8 16,466 53.9

Separated, divorced, widowed . . . . . . . . . . 9,322 51.6 3,841 57.7 5,481 47.3

Never married . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,135 49.2 2,789 50.6 2,346 47.6

Parent’s Educational Expectations 

Would like child to go beyond 

high school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,825 56.4 21,859 59.8 22,966 53.2

Would like child to complete high school 

 or less education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,303 33.7 975 42.6 1,328 27.1

Expect child to go beyond high school . . . 43,098 57.7 21,194 60.7 21,904 54.8

Expect child to complete high school 

 or less education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,029 29.7 1,640 37.0 2,389 24.7

Educational Attainment

Less than high school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,400 51.0 2,152 54.6 2,248 47.6

High school graduate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,352 52.4 6,247 55.8 7,105 49.4

Some college or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,375 57.3 14,435 61.1 14,940 53.6

Monthly Family Income

Under $1,500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,933 50.5 3,037 52.2 2,896 48.7

$1,500 to $2,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,696 52.8 4,427 57.9 4,269 47.6

$3,000 to $4,499 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,973 56.3 3,927 60.5 4,046 52.2

$4,500 to $5,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,646 54.5 3,170 56.0 3,476 53.1

$6,000 and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,032 58.1 7,854 62.9 9,178 53.9

Income not reported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 849 56.8 420 58.8 429 54.8

Family Poverty Status3

Below poverty level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,486 52.4 3,974 55.5 3,512 48.7

At or above poverty level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,793 55.9 18,440 59.8 20,353 52.3

 100 to 199 percent of poverty . . . . . . . . . 10,544 54.9 5,317 58.7 5,227 51.0

 200 percent of poverty or higher . . . . . . . 28,249 56.2 13,123 60.2 15,126 52.7

Metro/Nonmetropolitan Residence 

Metropolitan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,062 56.0 18,916 59.8 20,146 52.4

In central cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,736 55.2 6,409 59.0 6,327 51.4

 Outside central cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,326 56.4 12,507 60.2 13,819 52.9

Nonmetropolitan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,067 52.0 3,919 55.4 4,148 48.8

Region of Residence

Northeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,504 58.1 4,234 62.8 4,270 53.4

Midwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,376 52.4 4,819 54.7 5,557 50.5

South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,808 54.9 8,160 59.3 8,648 50.7

West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,440 56.5 5,621 59.6 5,819 53.6

Total children, 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,186 58.5 23,632 64.3 24,554 52.9 

Total children, 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47,718 54.5 23,602 58.8 24,116 50.4 

Total children, 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47,023 53.8 24,015 57.4 23,008 50.0 

Total children, 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,485 51.6 23,704 56.3 22,782 46.8 

1

 Does not include the normal progression and graduation from elementary and middle schools.

2

 Married includes married, spouse present and married, spouse absent (excluding separated).

3

 Includes only children in households for which poverty status was determined.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2004 Panel, Wave 8 (2006 data); 2004 Panel, Wave 3 (2004 data); 2001 Panel, 

Wave 7 (2003 data); 1996 Panel, Waves 6 and 12 (1998 and 2000 data); Child Well-Being Topical Modules. 

Table 3. 

Percent of Children 6 to 17 Years Old Who Were Highly Engaged in School 

by Selected Characteristics: 2006—Con.

(Numbers in thousands) 
U.S. Census Bureau 9

expectations, while taking into 

account more traditional demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, such as race, Hispanic origin, parent’s marital status, parent’s 

educational attainment, monthly 

family income, and metropolitan 

status. Logistic regression techniques were used to estimate the 

relative odds of children in different 

population groups being more 

highly engaged in school than children in the specified reference 

group.24 The results, while not predicting causation, will show the relative importance of these indicators 

with respect to being highly 

engaged in school. An odds ratio 

of 1.0 indicates that a child with a 

select characteristic is as likely to 

be highly engaged as a child with 

the specified reference or comparison characteristic. Ratios under 1.0 

or over 1.0 indicate that a child is 

less likely or more likely to be 

highly engaged, respectively. 

Table 4 shows that while controlling 

for other factors, children 6 to 11 

years old had greater odds (20 percent) of being engaged in school 

than children 12 to 17 years old. 

The odds of being highly engaged 

in school were twice as high for 

Asians as for non-Hispanic White 

children. Hispanic children also had 

greater odds (36 percent) of being 

highly engaged, compared with 

non-Hispanic White children. 

Parental interaction makes a significant difference in the odds of children being highly engaged in 

school. When parents praise their 

6- to 17-year-old children 3 or more 

times per day, children have greater 

odds of being highly engaged in 

school (38 percent), compared with 

children whose parents praise them 

less often. When parents talk or 

play with their child for 5 minutes 

percent of children who took lessons after school or on weekends 

were highly engaged in school, 

compared with 52 percent of those 

who did not take lessons. Sixty-one 

percent of children who participated 

in an after-school club were highly 

engaged in school, compared with 

53 percent of those who did not. 

Children who attended a religious 

activity at least once a month were 

more likely to be highly engaged in 

school than those who attended 

less frequently—58 percent compared with 51 percent.

Children’s school experience is also 

linked with school engagement. 

Children who had changed schools 

(aside from the normal progression 

or graduation) were less likely to be 

highly engaged in school (51 percent) than children who had never 

changed schools (58 percent). 

Among children 12 to 17 years old, 

only 25 percent of those who had 

ever been expelled or suspended 

were highly engaged in school, 

compared with 55 percent who had 

never been expelled or suspended. 

Conversely, all children in gifted 

classes were much more likely to 

be highly engaged in school than 

children not in gifted classes (70 

percent and 52 percent, respectively).

These statistics indicate that the 

number of daily parent-child interactions and extent of participation 

in after-school activities are key to 

understanding what may motivate 

children to be more highly engaged 

in school beyond just passing into 

the next grade level. 

Multivariate Analysis of 

Children Highly Engaged in 

School 

This analysis shows the relationship 

between children who are highly 

engaged in school and the level of 

parental interaction, after-school 

activities, and parent’s educational 

had some college or more education were more likely to be highly 

engaged (57 percent) than those 

with parents who had a high school 

degree (52 percent). Children from 

families with a monthly income of 

$6,000 or more were more likely to 

be highly engaged (58 percent) 

than those with family incomes of 

less than $1,500 per month (51 

percent). Children living in metropolitan areas were more likely to be 

highly engaged (56 percent) than 

those living in nonmetropolitan 

areas (52 percent).

Parental characteristics, behaviors, 

and attitudes are also related to 

children’s school engagement. For 

example, 62 percent of children 

who were praised three or more 

times per day were highly engaged 

in school, compared with 49 percent of children who were praised 

less often. Similarly, 61 percent of 

children whose parent talked or 

played with them for 5 minutes or 

more, 3 or more times per day, 

were highly engaged in school 

compared with 49 percent of children whose parent talked or played 

with them less often. Children 

whose parent placed restrictions on 

how much, how often, and how 

late they could watch television, 

were more likely to be highly 

engaged in school than those 

whose parents placed fewer or no 

restrictions on television viewing 

(59 percent and 50 percent, respectively). Fifty-seven percent of children whose parent ate dinner with 

them 5 or more days per week 

were highly engaged in school, 

compared with 48 percent of children whose parent ate dinner with 

them less often.

Children’s activities are also associated with school engagement. 

Fifty-eight percent of children who 

participated in sports were highly 

engaged in school, compared with 

53 percent of children who did not 

participate in sports. Sixty-three 

24 The reference group was selected based 

on the bivariate distribution. The group that 

was least likely to be engaged or on-track was 

chosen as the reference group.
10 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 4. 

Odds of Children 6 to 17 Years Old Being Highly Engaged in School by Selected Child and 

Parent Characteristics: 2006

(Universe: children enrolled in school)

Total 6 to 11 years old 12 to 17 years old

 Odds ratio Signifi cance Odds ratio Signifi cance Odds ratio Signifi cance

CHILD CHARACTERISTICS

Age

6 to 11 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.203 **

12 to 17 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R 

Sex

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.914 *** 1.836 *** 1.921 ***

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Race and Hispanic Origin

Non-Hispanic White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Non-Hispanic Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.111 n.s. 0.997 n.s. 1.336 *

Non-Hispanic Asian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.037 *** 1.824 * 2.232 ***

Non-Hispanic other race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.025 n.s. 0.965 n.s. 1.108 n.s.

Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.364 *** 1.350 ** 1.336 **

Parental Interaction 

Praised three or more times per day . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.376 *** 1.438 *** 1.336 **

Praised less often . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Talk or play with parent three or more times 

 per day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.158 * 0.957 n.s. 1.424 ***

Talk or play with parent less often . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

All three television rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.175 ** 1.079 n.s. 1.247 **

Less than all three television rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Eat dinner together 5 days per week or more . . . . . . 1.237 ** 1.035 n.s. 1.303 **

Eat dinner together less than 5 days per week . . . . . R R R 

Activities 

Participate in sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.107 + 1.056 n.s. 1.120 n.s.

Do not participate in sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Participate in lessons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.126 + 1.202 * 1.047 n.s.

Do not participate in lessons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Participate in clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.080 n.s. 1.087 n.s. 1.071 n.s.

Do not participate in clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Attend religious activities once a month or more . . . 1.195 ** 1.211 * 1.163 +

Attend religious activities less than once a month . . . R R R 

School experience 

Ever changed schools1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Never changed schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.231 *** 0.946 n.s. 1.400 ***

Ever suspended or expelled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NA NA R 

Never suspended or expelled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.743 ***

In gifted classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.000 *** 1.861 *** 2.107 ***

Not in gifted classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

See footnotes at end of table.
U.S. Census Bureau 11

not significantly related to the odds 

of being highly engaged in school.

School experience played a role in 

the odds of children being highly 

engaged in school. Children who 

had never changed schools (aside 

from the normal progression of 

graduations) had about a 23 percent increase in their odds of being 

highly engaged in school. The 

odds for children in gifted classes 

or classes for advanced students 

were two times greater than those 

not in gifted classes for both age 

per week. All of these parent-child 

interactions are also significantly 

related to higher school engagement scores among children 12 to 

17 years old. 

Participation in activities outside of 

school is also associated with 

increased odds of being highly 

engaged in school. Children who 

participate in sports, take lessons, 

or attend religious activities once a 

month or more, have increased 

odds of being highly engaged. 

However, participation in clubs was 

or more, 3 or more times per day, 

children have greater odds of being 

highly engaged in school (16 percent). When parents limit children’s 

television viewing with the following television rules (time of day, 

type of program and hours per 

day), children have greater odds 

(18 percent) of being highly 

engaged in school compared with 

children with fewer or no television 

rules. Children had about 24 percent greater odds of being highly 

engaged in school if they eat dinner with a parent 5 or more days 

Total 6 to 11 years old 12 to 17 years old

 Odds ratio Signifi cance Odds ratio Signifi cance Odds ratio Signifi cance

FAMILY AND PARENT CHARACTERISTICS 

Marital Status 

Married2

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.131 + 1.157 n.s. 1.049 n.s.

Unmarried . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Educational Attainment

Less than high school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.989 n.s. 0.983 n.s. 0.972 n.s.

High school graduate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.013 n.s. 1.052 n.s. 0.943 n.s.

Some college or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Parent’s Educational Expectations 

Expect child to go beyond high school . . . . . . . . . . . 2.315 *** 2.132 *** 2.255 ***

Expect child to complete high school or 

less education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Monthly Family income

Under $3,0003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

$3,000 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.024 n.s. 1.046 n.s. 1.009 n.s.

Metro/Nonmetropolitan Residence 

Metropolitan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.003 n.s. 0.998 n.s. 1.031 n.s.

Nonmetropolitan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Region

Northeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.133 n.s. 1.137 n.s. 1.112 n.s.

Midwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.938 n.s. 0.815 + 1.090 n.s.

West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.020 n.s. 0.956 n.s. 1.079 n.s.

South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Table 4. 

Odds of Children 6 to 17 Years Old Being Highly Engaged in School by Selected Child and 

Parent Characteristics: 2006—Con.

(Universe: children enrolled in school)

R Reference group.

+ 0.05 < p <0.1.

* Signifi cant at 0.01 < p <0.05.

** Signifi cant at 0.001 < p <0.01.

*** Signifi cant at p < 0.001.

n.s. Not statistically signifi cant.

NA Not applicable. Question not asked for children 6 to 11 years old.

1

 Does not include the normal progression and graduation from elementary and middle schools.

2

 Married includes married, spouse present and married, spouse absent (excluding separated).

3

 Data only shown for people with reported family income.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2004 Panel, Wave 8; Child Well-Being Topical Module.
12 U.S. Census Bureau

families was also related to whether 

children were on-track—74 percent 

of children living in families below 

the poverty level were academically 

on-track, compared with 82 percent 

of children living in families at 200 

percent of poverty or higher. 

Children living in metropolitan 

areas were more likely to be ontrack (80 percent) than children living in nonmetropolitan areas (75 

percent). Since poverty and geographic characteristics may be 

indicative of the quality of school 

systems and educational resources 

in different areas, these differences 

may reflect the general quality of 

the school systems in these areas.

Unlike in the previous section, 

when positive parental interactions 

were related to higher school 

engagement scores for children, little evidence of the same relationship is found when examining these 

behaviors with children being academically on-track in school. 

Children 12 to 17 years old, whose 

parent ate dinner with them 5 days 

per week or more, were less likely 

to be on-track (78 percent) than 

children whose parent ate dinner 

with them less than 5 days per 

week (81 percent). Children whose 

parents put few, if any, restrictions 

on television viewing were more 

likely to be on-track (80 percent) 

than those whose parents placed 

more restrictions on their television 

viewing (78 percent). 

More consistent findings emerged 

concerning children’s participation 

in after-school activities and being 

academically on-track. Eighty-one 

percent of children 12 to 17 years 

old who participated in sports were 

more likely to be on-track, compared with 77 percent of children 

who did not participate in sports. 

Eighty-four percent of children who 

took lessons after school or on 

weekends were more likely to be 

on-track, compared to 77 percent 

who did not participate in lessons. 

report by looking at the relationship 

between the outcome of children 

being academically on-track (i.e. 

enrolled in school at or above the 

modal grade level for their age) and 

their daily interaction with parents, 

participation in extracurricular 

activities, academic experience, and 

parents’ educational expectations. 

Nationally, 79 percent of children 

12 to 17 years old currently 

enrolled in school were academically on-track (Table 5). This represents a 4 percentage-point increase 

since 2003 and a 8 percentagepoint increase since 1998. 

Although data are presented for all 

children 6 to 17 years old, characteristics of children 12 to 17 years 

old will be highlighted in this section because they have been in 

school longer and have more educational experience to draw upon. 

Examining basic demographic characteristics of the children, girls 

were more likely to be on-track 

than boys (83 percent and 75 percent, respectively). Asians were 

more likely to be on-track (87 percent) than non-Hispanic White (80 

percent), Hispanic (79 percent), and 

Black children (77 percent).25 Children whose parents were married 

(81 percent) were more likely to be 

on-track than those with separated, 

divorced, or widowed parents 

(78 percent), or those with nevermarried parents (70 percent). 

Several socioeconomic indicators of 

child well-being were related to 

children’s progress in school. 

Children whose parent had some 

college or more education were 

more likely to be on-track (81 percent) than those with parents who 

had a high school degree (77 percent). The poverty status of 

groups. Children 12 to 17 years 

old who had never been expelled 

or suspended from school had odds 

of being highly engaged two and a 

half times greater than those who 

had been expelled or suspended. 

This association does not imply 

causation. Those who are highly 

engaged may have prepared themselves to have a more positive 

school experience.

Parental expectations may influence 

the extent to which children are 

engaged in school. The odds for 

children whose parents expect 

them to get some education 

beyond high school were more than 

double the odds for children whose 

parents had lower expectations. 

However, when looking at the more 

traditional socioeconomic indicators such as parental education, 

family income, and residential variables, no statistically significant 

relationships were found.

In sum, race, Hispanic origin, 

parental interaction, the child’s 

school experiences, and parent’s 

expectations contribute significantly to the odds of children being 

highly engaged in school, whereas 

typical correlates with child wellbeing such as parent’s educational 

attainment, metropolitan status, 

and income do not. These findings 

suggest that children being highly 

engaged in school are not only the 

result of economic well-being. 

More active participation in familial 

and after-school activities by both 

children and parents is a contributing factor.

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE

Select Characteristics of 

Children Academically 

On-Track 

A key indicator of children’s wellbeing is academic performance in 

school. Children’s academic 

performance is analyzed in this 

25 Non-Hispanic White and Hispanic were 

not statistically diff erent from each other; and 

Hispanic and Black were not statistically diff erent from each other.
U.S. Census Bureau 13

Table 5. 

Percent of Children Aged 6 to 17 Years Old Who Are Academically On-Track by Selected 

Characteristics: 2006

(Numbers in thousands) 

Total 6 to 11 years old 12 to 17 years old

Number of 

children currently enrolledPercent 

on-track

Number of 

children currently enrolledPercent 

on-track

Number of 

children currently enrolledPercent 

on-track

Total children, 2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . 47,129 82.7 22,835 86.6 24,294 79.1

CHILD CHARACTERISTICS

Sex

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,128 85.6 11,246 88.4 11,882 83.0

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,001 80.0 11,589 84.9 12,412 75.4

Race and Hispanic Origin

White alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,908 82.9 17,423 86.5 18,485 79.5

Non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,557 82.9 13,084 86.4 14,473 79.8

Black alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,322 81.4 3,436 86.6 3,886 76.8

Asian alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,485 88.4 761 90.1 724 86.5

Hispanic (any race) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,153 83.0 4,757 86.8 4,396 78.9

Parental Interaction 

Praised three or more times per day . . . . 23,336 84.1 13,140 87.7 10,196 79.5

Praised less often . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,792 81.4 9,694 85.2 14,098 78.8

Talk or play with parent three or more 

 times per day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,210 84.0 13,173 87.3 11,037 80.1

Talk or play with parent less often . . . . . . . 22,918 81.4 9,662 85.7 13,256 78.3

All three television rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,372 83.1 16,493 86.6 11,879 78.1

Less than all three television rules . . . . . . 18,757 82.3 6,342 86.6 12,415 80.1

Eat dinner together 5 days per week 

 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,261 82.7 19,864 86.7 18,397 78.4

Eat dinner together less than 5 days 

 per week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,867 82.9 2,971 86.3 5,896 81.2

Activities 

Participate in sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,224 83.8 9,072 86.6 11,152 81.4

Do not participate in sports . . . . . . . . . . . 26,904 82.0 13,762 86.6 13,142 77.1

Participate in lessons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,236 86.0 7,632 88.3 7,604 83.7

Do not participate in lessons . . . . . . . . . . 31,893 81.2 15,203 85.8 16,690 77.0

Participate in clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,556 85.6 7,218 88.6 8,338 83.0

Do not participate in clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . 31,573 81.3 15,617 85.7 15,956 77.1

Attend religious activities once a month 

 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,869 83.4 14,146 86.7 13,723 80.0

Attend religious activities less than once 

 a month . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,259 81.8 8,689 86.5 10,570 78.0

School experience 

Ever changed schools1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,549 80.2 5,321 83.8 10,228 78.4

Never changed schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31,580 84.0 17,514 87.5 14,066 79.6

Ever suspended or expelled . . . . . . . . . . . NA NA NA NA 2,565 69.8

Never suspended or expelled . . . . . . . . . . NA NA NA NA 21,728 80.2

In gifted classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,091 86.8 3,091 88.3 6,000 86.0

Not in gifted classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,038 81.8 19,744 86.4 18,294 76.8

See footnotes at end of table.
14 U.S. Census Bureau

Total 6 to 11 years old 12 to 17 years old

Number of 

children currently enrolledPercent 

on-track

Number of 

children currently enrolledPercent 

on-track

Number of 

children currently enrolledPercent 

on-track

FAMILY AND PARENT 

CHARACTERISTICS 

Marital Status 

Married2

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32,670 83.9 16,204 87.2 16,466 80.8

Separated, divorced, widowed . . . . . . . . . . 9,322 81.1 3,841 85.4 5,481 78.0

Never married . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,135 78.2 2,789 85.0 2,346 70.2

Parent’s Educational Expectations 

Would like child to go beyond 

high school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,825 83.2 21,859 86.8 22,966 79.8

Would like child to complete high school 

 or less education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,303 73.7 975 82.9 1,328 66.9

Expect child to go beyond high school . . . 43,098 83.6 21,194 86.8 21,904 80.4

Expect child to complete high school 

 or less education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,029 74.2 1,640 84.2 2,389 67.3

Educational Attainment

Less than high school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,400 77.0 2,152 80.9 2,248 73.2

High school graduate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,352 81.1 6,247 85.7 7,105 77.0

Some college or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,375 84.4 14,435 87.9 14,940 81.0

Monthly Family Income

Under $1,500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,933 77.8 3,037 82.9 2,896 72.4

 $1,500 to $2,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,696 81.1 4,427 85.4 4,269 76.6

 $3,000 to $4,499. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,973 83.5 3,927 88.5 4,046 78.6

 $4,500 to $5,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,646 83.0 3,170 87.1 3,476 79.4

 $6,000 and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,032 85.3 7,854 87.7 9,178 83.3

 Income not reported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 849 73.1 420 84.3 429 62.2

Family Poverty Status3

Below poverty level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,486 78.8 3,974 82.8 3,512 74.2

At or above poverty level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,793 83.7 18,440 87.5 20,353 80.3

 100 to 199 percent of poverty . . . . . . . . . 10,544 81.6 5,317 86.8 5,227 76.4

 200 percent of poverty or higher . . . . . . . 28,249 84.5 13,123 87.8 15,126 81.7

Metro/Nonmetropolitan Residence 

Metropolitan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,062 83.6 18,916 87.4 20,146 80.0

In central cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,736 82.8 6,409 86.8 6,327 78.7

 Outside central cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,326 84.0 12,507 87.7 13,819 80.6

Nonmetropolitan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,067 78.7 3,919 83.0 4,148 74.7

Region of Residence

Northeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,504 86.2 4,234 90.4 4,270 82.1

Midwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,376 79.4 4,819 83.0 5,557 76.2

South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,808 81.3 8,160 85.3 8,648 77.5

West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,440 85.4 5,621 88.8 5,819 82.1

Table 5. 

Percent of Children Aged 6 to 17 Years Old Who Are Academically On-Track by Selected 

Characteristics: 2006—Con.

(Numbers in thousands) 

See footnotes at end of table.
U.S. Census Bureau 15

School experience is a key factor in 

the odds of children being academically on-track. Children 12 to 17 

years old who were in gifted 

classes, and those who had never 

been suspended or expelled from 

school, had greater odds of being 

academically on-track than those 

who were not in gifted classes, or 

had been expelled from school (48 

percent higher and 34 percent higher, respectively). Children 6 to 11 

years old who had never changed 

schools had greater odds of being 

academically on-track (36 percent) 

than those who had changed 

schools. Participation in a club was 

the only after-school activity associated with the greater odds of being 

academically on-track and that was 

only for children 6 to 11 years old 

(26 percent). 

Parental expectations greatly impact 

the odds of whether children 12 to 

17 years old will be academically 

on-track. Children had about 42 

percent greater odds of being academically on-track when parents 

had high expectations. This result 

may not be causal. It is likely that 

those who are highly engaged in 

school and on-track academically 

foster higher expectations from 

their parents. 

after-school activities, and parent’s 

educational expectations, while 

controlling for demographic characteristics of the children, their parents, and the households they live 

in. It will show if the parental interaction and after-school activities, 

which were significantly and positively related to highly motivating 

children in school, persist to the 

same degree in keeping children 

academically on-track. The results, 

while not predicting causation, will 

show the relative importance of 

these indicators with respect to 

being on-track in school. An odds 

ratio of 1.0 indicates that a child 

with a select characteristic is as 

likely to be on-track as a child with 

the specified reference or comparison characteristic. Ratios under 1.0 

or over 1.0 indicate that a child is 

less likely or more likely to be ontrack, respectively. 

Children 6 to 11 years old had 

greater odds (78 percent) of being 

academically on-track than children 

12 to 17 years old (Table 6). Girls 

had 45 percent greater odds of 

being academically on-track than 

boys. This was similar to the findings from the school engagement 

index.

Children who participated in afterschool clubs (83 percent) were 

more likely to be on-track than children who did not participate in 

after-school clubs (77 percent). 

Children who attended a religious 

activity at least once a month were 

more likely to be on-track (80 percent) than those who attended less 

often or not at all (78 percent).

More disruptive experiences 

adversely affecting school attendance such as suspension and 

expulsion are related to noticeably 

larger differences in school progress. Children who had ever been 

expelled or suspended were less 

likely to be on-track (70 percent) 

than children who had never been 

expelled or suspended (80 percent). 

Conversely, children in gifted 

classes were much more likely to 

be on-track than children not in 

gifted classes (86 percent and 77 

percent, respectively). 

Multivariate Analysis of 

Children Academically 

On-Track 

This analysis shows the relationship between children who are academically on-track in school and 

the level of parental interaction, 

Total 6 to 11 years old 12 to 17 years old

Number of 

children currently enrolledPercent 

on-track

Number of 

children currently enrolledPercent 

on-track

Number of 

children currently enrolledPercent 

on-track

Total children, 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,186 75.6 23,632 78.8 24,554 72.6

Total children, 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47,718 78.7 23,602 82.6 24,116 74.9

Total children, 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NA NA NA NA 23,008 71.8

Total children, 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NA NA NA NA 22,782 71.1

NA Not applicable. Data not tabulated for years. 

1

 Does not include the normal progression and graduation from elementary and middle schools. 

2

 Married includes married, spouse present and married, spouse absent (excluding separated). 

3

 Includes only children in households for which poverty status was determined. 

Note: Children are generally considered on-track when they are enrolled at or above the modal grade for their age (the grade in which most children of a given 

age are enrolled).

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2004 Panel, Wave 8 (2006 data); 2004 Panel, Wave 3 (2004 data); 2001 Panel, 

Wave 7 (2003 data); 1996 Panel, Waves 6 and 12 (1998 and 2000 data); Child Well-Being Topical Modules. 

Table 5. 

Percent of Children Aged 6 to 17 Years Old Who Are Academically On-Track by Selected 

Characteristics: 2006—Con.

(Numbers in thousands) 
16 U.S. Census Bureau

more basic indicators of parental 

educational and household income 

levels and residential and regional 

characteristics that could reflect 

resources of both families and 

school systems. The examination 

of both these measures provides a 

more complete picture of the wellbeing of children as they progress 

through their formative years in 

school.

SOURCE OF THE DATA

The population represented (the 

population universe) in the 2004 

SIPP is the civilian noninstitutionalized population living in the United 

States. The SIPP is a longitudinal 

survey conducted at 4-month intervals. The data in this report were 

collected from June through 

September 2006 in the eighth wave 

of the 2004 SIPP Panel. The institutionalized population, which is 

excluded from the population universe, is composed primarily of the 

population in correctional institutions and nursing homes (91 percent of the 4.1 million institutionalized population in Census 2000).

Although the main focus of the SIPP 

is information on labor force participation, jobs, income, and participation in federal assistance programs, 

information on other topics is also 

collected in topical modules on a 

rotating basis. 

ACCURACY OF THE DATA

Statistics from surveys are subject 

to sampling and nonsampling error. 

All comparisons presented in this 

report have taken sampling error 

into account and are significant at 

the 90 percent confidence level 

unless otherwise noted. This means 

the 90 percent confidence interval 

for the difference between the estimates being compared does not 

include zero. Nonsampling errors 

in surveys may be attributed to a 

variety of sources, such as how the 

Parental Interaction and 

After-School Activities

Two indices are created and shown 

in Table 7 based on the number of 

parental interactions children experience and the number of extracurricular activities in which they are 

participants. This index ranges 

from 0 to 4—the higher the number, the more different ways children experience interactions with 

parents on a daily basis or the more 

they participate in activities. For 

each index level, Table 7 shows the 

percentage of children who are 

highly engaged in school and who 

are academically on-track. 

Students who scored highest on the 

parental interaction index (an index 

score of 4) were almost twice as 

likely to be highly engaged in 

school as those students who had 

the least amount of daily interaction with their parents (an index 

score of 0). However, they were no 

more likely to be on-track (84 percent compared with 82 percent, 

respectively).26

Similarly, children who had the 

highest score on the index of afterschool activities were more highly 

engaged in school (66 percent) than 

children who had the lowest level 

of participation (45 percent). 

Positive, but smaller, differences 

were found in this instance between 

participation in activities and being 

on-track between the two groups at 

either end of the index (86 percent 

and 79 percent, respectively).

These findings suggest that parental interaction and children’s activities may promote a great deal of 

enthusiasm for schoolwork among 

children, but may not be significantly related to the progress of 

children graduating each year to a 

higher grade. The characteristics 

related to being on-track are the 

Some, but not all, parental characteristics have shown to be related 

to whether or not children are academically on-track. Children 6 to 

11 years old whose parents have 

some college or more had 56 percent greater odds of being academically on-track than children whose 

parent had less than a high school 

degree. Children 6 to 17 years old 

whose family income was $3000 or 

more per month had 16 percent 

greater odds of being academically 

on-track than those with less family 

income. Children 6 to 17 years old 

had 18 percent greater odds of 

being academically on-track if they 

lived in a metropolitan area than a 

nonmetropolitan area. However, 

these latter two relationships were 

not evident for children in individual age groups (6 to 11 and 12 to 

17 years old). Finally, children had 

greater odds of being academically 

on-track if they lived in the 

Northeast and the West compared 

with the South (33 percent and 30 

percent, respectively). Those in the 

Midwest had 14 percent lower odds 

of being on-track than those in the 

South.

In sum, parent’s educational attainment, family income, place of residence, school experience, and parent’s expectations contribute 

significantly to the odds of children 

being academically on-track in 

school. Unlike the previous analysis of indicators that motivate children to be highly engaged in 

school, parent-child interaction and 

participation in after-school activities appear to be not significantly 

related to the more basic issue of 

keeping children in the modal 

grade for their age.

26 The diff erence is not statistically signifi -

cant.
U.S. Census Bureau 17

Table 6. 

Odds of Children 6 to 17 Years Old Being Academically On-Track in School by Selected 

Child and Parent Characteristics: 2006

(Universe: children enrolled in school)

Total 6 to 11 years old 12 to 17 years old

 Odds ratio Signifi cance Odds ratio Signifi cance Odds ratio Signifi cance

CHILD CHARACTERISTICS

Age

6 to 11 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.776 ***

12 to 17 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R 

Sex

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.451 *** 1.319 * 1.531 ***

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Race and Hispanic Origin

Non-Hispanic White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Non-Hispanic Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.071 n.s. 1.160 n.s. 1.058 n.s.

Non-Hispanic Asian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.386 n.s. 1.273 n.s. 1.473 n.s.

Non-Hispanic other race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.942 n.s. 1.168 n.s. 0.849 n.s.

Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.112 n.s. 1.158 n.s. 1.061 n.s.

Parental Interaction 

Praised three or more times per day . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.034 n.s. 1.234 n.s. 0.929 n.s.

Praised less often . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Talk or play with parent three or more times 

 per day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.043 n.s. 0.974 n.s. 1.090 n.s.

Talk or play with parent less often . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

All three television rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.855 * 0.913 n.s. 0.819 *

Less than all three television rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Eat dinner together 5 days per week or more . . . . . . 0.882 n.s. 0.952 n.s. 0.844 n.s.

Eat dinner together less than 5 days per week . . . . . R R R 

Activities 

Participate in sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.041 n.s. 0.885 n.s. 1.151 n.s.

Do not participate in sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Participate in lessons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.096 n.s. 1.023 n.s. 1.171 n.s.

Do not participate in lessons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Participate in clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.193 * 1.257 + 1.139 n.s.

Do not participate in clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Attend religious activities once a month or more . . . 1.042 n.s. 0.984 n.s. 1.066 n.s.

Attend religious activities less than once a month . . . R R R 

School experience 

Ever changed schools1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Never changed schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.171 * 1.359 * 1.047 n.s.

Ever suspended or expelled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NA NA R 

Never suspended or expelled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.345 *

In gifted classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.378 *** 1.127 n.s. 1.477 **

Not in gifted classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

See footnotes at end of table.
18 U.S. Census Bureau

surveys or data sources. The SIPP 

2004 Panel Wave 8 experienced a 

33.1 percent attrition of the original 

sample since Wave 1, which had a 

nonresponse rate of 14.9 percent.

For further information on the 

source of the data and accuracy of 

the estimates including standard 

errors and confidence intervals, go 

to <http://www.census.gov/sipp

/sourceac/S&A04_W1toW12

(S&A-10).pdf> or contact Stephen 

Clark of the Census Bureau’s 

Demographic Statistical Methods 

whereby sample estimates are 

adjusted to independent estimates 

of the national population by age, 

race, sex, and Hispanic origin. This 

weighting partially corrects for bias 

due to undercoverage, but biases 

may still be present when people 

who are missed by the survey differ 

from those interviewed in ways 

other than age, race, sex, and 

Hispanic origin. How this weighting 

procedure affects other variables in 

the survey is not precisely known. 

All of these considerations affect 

comparisons across different 

survey was designed, how respondents interpret questions, how able 

and willing respondents are to provide correct answers, and how 

accurately the answers are coded 

and classified. The Census Bureau 

employs quality control procedures 

throughout the production process—including the overall design 

of surveys, the wording of questions, review of the work of interviewers and coders, and statistical 

review of reports—to minimize 

these errors. The SIPP weighting 

procedure uses ratio estimation, 

Total 6 to 11 years old 12 to 17 years old

 Odds ratio Signifi cance Odds ratio Signifi cance Odds ratio Signifi cance

FAMILY AND PARENT CHARACTERISTICS 

Marital Status 

Married2

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.085 n.s. 1.015 n.s. 1.114 n.s.

Unmarried . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Educational Attainment

Less than high school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

High school graduate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.227 + 1.382 + 1.127 n.s.

Some college or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.333 * 1.562 * 1.205 n.s.

Parent’s Educational Expectations 

Expect child to go beyond high school . . . . . . . . . . . 1.310 * 0.992 n.s. 1.415 *

Expect child to complete high school or 

less education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Monthly Family Income

Under $3,0003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

$3,000 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.163 + 1.200 n.s. 1.129 n.s.

Metro/Nonmetropolitan Residence 

Metropolitan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.184 + 1.200 n.s. 1.182 n.s.

Nonmetropolitan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Region

Northeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.331 ** 1.511 * 1.219 n.s.

Midwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.864 + 0.819 n.s. 0.906 n.s.

West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.295 ** 1.314 + 1.280 +

South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R R R 

Table 6. 

Odds of Children 6 to 17 Years Old Being Academically On-Track in School by Selected 

Child and Parent Characteristics: 2006—Con.

(Universe: children enrolled in school)

R Reference group.

+ 0.05 < p <0.1.

* Signifi cant at 0.01 < p <0.05.

** Signifi cant at 0.001 < p <0.01.

*** Signifi cant at p <0.001.

n.s. Not statistically signifi cant.

NA Not applicable. Question not asked for children 6 to 11 years old.

1

 Does not include the normal progression and graduation from elementary and middle schools.

2

 Married includes married, spouse present and married, spouse absent (excluding separated).

3

 Data only shown for people with reported income.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2004 Panel, Wave 8; Child Well-Being Topical Module.
U.S. Census Bureau 19

CONTACT

For additional child well-being information, you may contact the 

authors of this report in the Fertility 

and Family Statistics Branch on 

301-763-2416. You may also 

contact the authors of this report 

by e-mail.

Jane Lawler Dye

<Jane.L.Dye@census.gov>

Tallese D. Johnson

<Tallese.D.Johnson@census.gov>

USER COMMENTS

The Census Bureau welcomes the 

comments and advice of users of 

its data and reports. If you have 

any suggestions or comments, 

please write to:

Chief, Housing and Household 

Economic Statistics Division

U.S. Census Bureau

Washington, DC 20233

Or send an e-mail inquiry to:

<HHES@census.gov>

SUGGESTED CITATION

Dye, Jane Lawler and Tallese D. 

Johnson, 2009. A Child’s Day: 2006 

(Selected Indicators of Child WellBeing). Current Population Reports, 

P70-118. U.S. Census Bureau, 

Washington, DC.

Other information on child wellbeing from the SIPP can be found in 

the following reports: Jason M. 

Fields and Kristin E. Smith, Poverty, 

Family Structure and Child WellBeing: Indicators from the SIPP, 

Population Division Working Paper 

Series, No. 23, U.S. Census Bureau, 

Washington, DC, 1998; Kristen E. 

Smith, Loretta E. Bass, and Jason M. 

Fields, Child Well-Being Indicators 

from the SIPP, Population Division 

Working Paper Series No. 24, U.S. 

Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 

1998. These papers are also on the 

Internet on the “Population Division: 

Working Paper,” section under 

“Subjects A to Z.”

Division via e-mail at

<Stephen.Clark@census.gov>.

Additional information on the SIPP 

can be found at the following Web 

sites: <www.sipp.census.gov

/sipp/> (main SIPP Web site), 

<www.sipp.census.gov/sipp

/workpapr/wp230.pdf> (SIPP 

Quality Profile), and <www.sipp

.census.gov/sipp/usrguide

/sipp2004.pdf> (SIPP User’s Guide).

MORE INFORMATION

The report and the detailed tables 

are available on the Internet at 

<www.census.gov>; search for 

child well-being data by clicking on 

the letter “C” in the “Subjects A to 

Z” section on the Web page and 

selecting “Children.” The previous 

reports A Child’s Day: 2003 

(Selected Indicators of Child WellBeing) (P70-109); A Child’s Day: 

2000 (Selected Indicators of Child 

Well-Being); and A Child’s Day: 

Home, School, and Play (Selected 

Indicators of Child Well-Being) with 

1994 data are also found on this 

page.

Table 7. 

Percent of Children 6 to 17 Years Old Who are Highly 

Engaged and On-Track in School by Parental Interaction 

Index and Participation in Activities Index: 2006

(Universe: children enrolled in school) 

Highly engaged On-track

Total 55.3 82.7 

Parental interaction index1 0 35.3 81.6 

1 46.5 80.1 

2 53.8 82.7 

3 58.7 84.1 

4 65.2 83.8 

Participation in activities index2 0 45.2 79.0 

1 53.6 81.4 

2 56.3 83.9 

3 61.7 85.5 

4 66.4 86.4 

1

 Parental interaction index includes praise and/or talking or playing three or more times per day, dinner 5 days per week, and all three television rules. 2

 Participation in activities index includes sports, lessons, clubs, and religious activities.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2004 Panel, Wave 8; Child 

Well-Being Topical Module.
20 U.S. Census Bureau

U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Washington, DC 20233

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

Penalty for Private Use $300

FIRST-CLASS MAIL

POSTAGE & FEES PAID

U.S. Census Bureau