November 2018

P70-159

By Brian Knop and Julie Siebens

Current Population Reports

A Child’s Day: Parental Interaction, 

School Engagement, and Extracurricular 

Activities: 2014 

INTRODUCTION

Children’s lives are shaped by their experiences 

in school and in extracurricular activities—both of 

which are sources of learning, identity formation, and 

socialization. This report uses a number of indicators 

to portray aspects of children’s well-being, primarily 

as it relates to involvement in school and extracurricular activities. The report also explores other aspects 

of children’s lives, such as parental engagement in 

reading, outings, and shared dinners. The findings 

come from Wave 1 of the 2014 Survey of Income and 

Program Participation (SIPP).1 2

This report first presents estimates related to household and family characteristics, showing different 

types of family situations in which children live, how 

many live in poverty, and other social and demographic characteristics. Next, we discuss parental 

interaction, providing estimates for the frequency in 

which children are read to, go on outings, and have 

shared dinner time with a parent. We then turn to 

children’s extracurricular activities, analyzing historical trends in activities, differences in involvement 

by poverty status, and estimates for the number of 

children who participate in multiple extracurricular activities and in religious activities. Finally, we 

explore school experiences by first looking at school 

1

 We expect the findings from this report to remain substantively consistent with the remaining waves in the panel.

2 The Census Bureau’s Disclosure Review Board and Disclosure 

Avoidance Officers have reviewed this data product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and have approved 

the disclosure avoidance practices applied to this release. 

CBDRB-FY19-ROSS-B0072

outcomes by parental education, and then analyzing 

associations between school engagement and individual and family context.

SURVEY OF INCOME AND PROGRAM 

PARTICIPATION 2014 CHILD WELL-BEING 

DATA 

The SIPP collects information on a variety of child 

well-being indicators to illustrate what children 

experience on a daily basis, including differences 

in family living arrangements and economic and 

social environments. There is a section of the 

survey that asks questions specific to child wellbeing, such as performance in school, participation in extracurricular activities, and parental 

engagement (see Appendix A for survey questions and measures used in this report). The SIPP 

was redesigned for the 2014 Panel to be less time 

intensive for respondents. For questions about 

extracurricular activities and school experiences 

(expulsion/grade repetition/gifted classes), a parent is asked if each item applies to any children, 

and then a follow-up question identifies which 

child. For questions about parental engagement, 

the parent is asked about involvement for all of 

their children in the home who are in the age universe for the question. In previous panels, parents 

were asked each well-being question separately 

for each child.
2 U.S. Census Bureau

HOUSEHOLD AND FAMILY 

CHARACTERISTICS

Of the 73.5 million children under 

18 years old in 2014, 51 percent 

were White, non-Hispanic, 24 

percent were Hispanic, 15 percent 

were Black, and 5 percent were 

Asian (see Table 1). A little over 

one in four children lived with at 

least one foreign-born parent.3 

A majority of children lived with 

either two married parents (61 

percent) or two unmarried parents 

(5 percent). One in four children (25 percent) lived with their 

mother only, and 5 percent lived 

with their father only. An additional 

2.5 million (3 percent) children 

lived with a householder that was 

not their parent, such as some 

other relative or nonrelative acting 

as a guardian.

3 Parental nativity status is based on the 

place of birth of one or more of the child’s 

parents. A parent born in the United States 

is considered native born. A parent born 

outside of the United States is considered 

foreign born.

The share of children living with 

two married parents is consistent across the three age groups 

(62 percent among both children 

under 6 and aged 6 to 11, and 61 

percent among children aged 12 

to 17). The percentage of children 

living with two unmarried parents 

is highest among children under 6 

(10 percent), followed by children 6 

to 11 (4 percent) and children 12 to 

17 (2 percent). 

Nearly 60 percent of children (43.7 

million) lived with at least one 

biological or adopted sibling (but 

no half/step siblings). Roughly 11 

percent of children lived only with 

half or step siblings, and 8 percent 

lived with both biological/adopted 

and half/step siblings. An additional 22 percent of children lived 

with no siblings.

There were 17.2 million children 

(23 percent) living in families with 

incomes below the poverty threshold. An additional 20 percent 

of children lived in families with 

incomes at 100 to 199 percent of 

their poverty threshold, while 15 

percent of children lived in families 

with incomes at 200 to 299 percent 

of their poverty threshold, and 11 

percent of children lived in families 

with incomes at 300 to 399 percent 

of their poverty threshold. There 

were 20.5 million (28 percent) 

children who lived in families with 

incomes 400 percent of their poverty threshold or higher.

PARENTAL INTERACTION 

The SIPP 2014 panel also collected 

information on several types of 

interactions between parents and 

their children. Parental interaction 

has been shown to be correlated 

with the well-being of children. 

Eating meals together as a family 

correlates with several positive outcomes for children, including better grades in school and decreased 

drug use (Eisenberg, et al., 2004). 

Young children who are read to 

regularly at home experience a 

strong gain in oral skills (Lonigan 

and Whitehurst 1998). 

Reference parents with children 

less than 6 years old were asked 

about how many times each week 

they went on outings or read to 

them (see Figure 1). Roughly 86 

percent of White, non-Hispanic 

children and 80 percent of Black 

and Hispanic children experienced 

at least two outings per week. 

REFERENCE PARENT 

Respondents in the Survey of Income and Program Participation 

(SIPP) child well-being (and child care) section are parents living 

with their children under 18 years old. In households where two 

parents are present, the mother is the reference parent. Questions 

for each child are asked of the reference parent. If the mother is 

not available for an interview, the father of the child is asked to 

provide proxy responses for her. If only one parent is present, they 

are the reference parent. If neither parent is in the household, the 

householder is the reference parent. If there are two fathers or 

two mothers present, the parent listed first is the reference parent. 

Reference parents include biological, step, and adoptive parents, 

but may be other relatives or nonrelatives. In these data, 96 percent of the children had a female reference parent, usually the 

mother. Data obtained from males who were the reference parent 

are included with the data from females. Respondents 15 to 17 years 

old, who themselves may be parents, had their childhood well-being 

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 reference parent.
U.S. Census Bureau 3

Table 1.

Children Under 18 Years Old by Selected Characteristics: 2014—Con.

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

All children Under 6 years 6 to 11 years 12 to 17 years

Number Percent

Margin 

of error1 Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

    Total children, 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . 73,544 100.0 X 24,033 100.0 24,505 100.0 25,006 100.0

CHILD

Sex

Female. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36,066 49.0 0.1 11,784 49.0 11,947 48.8 12,335 49.3

Male. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,477 51.0 0.1 12,248 51.0 12,557 51.2 12,671 50.7

Race and Hispanic Origin2

White alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,709 73.0 0.2 17,228 71.7 18,035 73.6 18,446 73.8

 Non-Hispanic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,777 51.4 0.4 12,115 50.4 12,527 51.1 13,136 52.5

Black alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,047 15.0 0.1 3,691 15.4 3,593 14.7 3,763 15.0

Asian alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,728 5.1 0.4 1,264 5.3 1,323 5.4 1,141 4.6

Hispanic (any race). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,918 24.4 0.2 5,853 24.4 6,167 25.2 5,899 23.6

Presence of Parents

Married—two parents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,173 61.4 0.9 14,825 61.7 15,189 62.0 15,159 60.6

Unmarried—two parents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,022 5.5 0.4 2,405 10.0 1,034 4.2 582 2.3

Mother only. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,499 25.2 0.7 5,488 22.8 6,299 25.7 6,712 26.8

Father only. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,347 4.6 0.4 716 3.0 1,268 5.2 1,363 5.5

Guardian. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,461 3.3 0.3 557 2.3 715 2.9 1,189 4.8

Presence of Siblings3

Only biological or adopted 

siblings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,708 59.4 0.9 13,132 54.6 15,602 63.7 14,974 60.0

Only half or step siblings4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,742 10.5 0.5 2,480 10.3 2,534 10.3 2,728 10.9

Biological/adopted and half/step 

siblings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,154 8.4 0.6 1,936 8.1 2,432 9.9 1,785 7.1

No siblings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,940 21.7 0.7 6,484 27.0 3,938 16.1 5,518 22.1

Parental Nativity5

Both parents native born. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,807 73.2 0.7 17,489 72.8 17,658 72.1 18,659 74.6

At least one foreign-born parent. . . . . . . . . 19,737 26.8 0.7 6,544 27.2 6,846 27.9 6,347 25.4

FAMILY AND REFERENCE 

PARENT CHARACERISTICS

Educational Attainment

Less than high school. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,859 13.4 0.7 3,122 13.0 3,301 13.5 3,436 13.7

High school graduate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,191 24.7 0.9 5,867 24.4 6,053 24.7 6,272 25.1

Some college. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,802 29.6 1.0 6,715 27.9 7,314 29.8 7,773 31.1

Bachelor's degree or higher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,618 32.1 0.9 8,328 34.7 7,838 32.0 7,452 29.8

Monthly Family Income6

Under $1,500. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,926 17.6 0.7 4,914 20.4 4,183 17.1 3,828 15.3

$1,500 to $2,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,809 16.1 0.8 3,834 16.0 4,251 17.3 3,724 15.0

$3,000 to $4,499. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,880 14.8 0.8 3,674 15.3 3,610 14.7 3,596 14.4

$4,500 and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,929 51.6 1.0 11,611 48.3 12,460 50.8 13,858 55.4

Poverty Status

Below poverty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,198 23.4 0.9 6,223 25.9 5,797 23.7 5,178 20.7

At or above poverty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,345 76.6 0.9 17,810 74.1 18,708 76.3 19,828 79.3

 100 to 199 percent of poverty. . . . . . . . . . 14,871 20.2 0.8 5,059 21.0 5,179 21.1 4,634 18.5

 200 to 299 percent of poverty. . . . . . . . . . 10,734 14.6 0.7 3,435 14.3 3,441 14.0 3,858 15.4

 300 to 399 percent of poverty. . . . . . . . . . 7,990 10.9 0.6 2,311 9.6 2,677 10.9 3,002 12.0

 400 percent of poverty or higher. . . . . . . 20,512 27.9 0.9 6,260 26.0 6,640 27.1 7,612 30.4

 See footnotes at end table. 
4 U.S. Census Bureau

Among White, non-Hispanic children, 76 percent were read to at 

least 5 days a week. This was higher 

than Black and Hispanic children, of 

whom 55 and 48 percent, respectively, were read to at least 5 days 

a week. At least 85 percent of 

children of each race and Hispanic 

origin group ate dinner with their 

parents at least 5 days a week. This 

was highest among Asian children, 

with 91 percent doing so.

EXTRACURRICULAR 

ACTIVITIES

Extracurricular activities provide 

children the opportunity to explore 

their interests while developing 

their social skills in organized clubs, 

teams, and lessons. They have been 

associated with academic performance, positive school perceptions, 

and high self-esteem (Darling et al., 

2005; Fredricks and Eccles 2008). 

However, programs promoting 

activities such as music and arts 

have experienced major budget 

cuts in public schools in recent 

years (Burrack et al., 2014), which 

may affect participation levels. 

Figure 2 shows the percentage of 

children aged 6 to 17 who participated in sports, lessons, and 

clubs between 1998 and 2014. In 

the survey years after 2000, the 

percentage of children participating in sports has been higher 

than participation in lessons or 

clubs. A sharp increase in sports 

Table 1.

Children Under 18 Years Old by Selected Characteristics: 2014—Con.

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

All children Under 6 years 6 to 11 years 12 to 17 years

Number Percent

Margin 

of error1 Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Program Participation

Received aid from one or more of the 

following programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,214 53.4 0.9 13,153 54.7 13,765 56.2 12,296 49.3

 TANF. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,048 2.8 0.3 716 3.0 732 3.0 601 2.4

 SNAP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,558 23.9 0.8 6,506 27.1 6,141 25.1 4,911 19.6

 WIC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,101 6.9 0.3 5,050 21.0 X X X X

 Medicaid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,971 38.0 0.9 10,382 43.2 9,631 39.3 7,958 31.8

 National School Lunch Program. . . . . . . . 29,894 40.7 0.9 7,190 29.9 12,155 49.6 10,548 42.3

Did not receive aid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34,257 46.6 0.9 10,880 45.3 10,740 43.8 12,638 50.5

X Not applicable. 

1 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. A margin of error is a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger 

the margin of error in relation to the size of the estimate, the less reliable the estimate. This number when added to or subtracted from the 

estimate forms the 90 percent confidence interval.

2 “Other Race” category is not included in this analysis. 

3 Presence of siblings refers to siblings who currently share the same household with the child at the time of the interview.

4 Includes “other” siblings.

5 Parental nativity status is based on the place of birth of one or more of the child’s parents. A parent born in the United States is considered native born. A parent born outside of the United States is considered foreign born.

6 Family Income, Poverty Status, and Program Participation are based on the reference period (January–December 2013). All other items 

are measured at the time of the interview. 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2014 Panel, Wave 1.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2014 Panel, Wave 1. 

White alone

White alone, non-Hispanic

Black alone

Asian alone

Hispanic

Figure 1.

Children With Selected Indicators of Parental Interaction by Race and Hispanic Origin

(In percent)

Went on 2 or more 

outings per week

Ate dinner with child at 

least 5 days per week

83.1

79.8

84.2

85.8

80.0

Read to child at least 

5 days a week

85.0

85.4

86.5

88.4

91.3

54.5

75.6

67.5

69.2

48.2
U.S. Census Bureau 5

involvement occurred between 

2011 and 2014, increasing by nearly 

7 percentage points from 35 

percent to 42 percent. A similar 

increase in sports involvement 

occurred between 2000 and 2006, 

though it decreased between 2006 

and 2009. Between 1998 and 2014, 

participation in clubs declined from 

35 percent to 28 percent. 

Participation in activities is particularly important for children from 

low-income families, as it mediates 

some of the socioeconomic disadvantage (Covay and Carbonaro 

2010). Table 2 shows involvement 

in activities by poverty status and 

age. Children in poverty were less 

likely to participate in each of the 

three activities than those not in 

poverty. Among young children in 

poverty, 24 percent of them participated in sports, while children 

from families with incomes more 

than four times the poverty line 

had more than double that percentage (57 percent) involved in 

sports. More than half (57 percent) 

of children aged 12 to 17 from 

families who were at least 400 

percent above the poverty threshold played sports, compared to 33 

percent of poor children. Among 

children aged 6 to 11, 20 percent of 

children in poverty and 50 percent of those at least 400 percent 

above the poverty threshold took 

lessons. Roughly 40 percent of 

children aged 12 to 17 in families at 

least 400 percent of the poverty 

threshold participated in lessons. 

Participation rates in clubs showed 

a similar pattern across age and 

poverty status. While 19 percent 

of children in both age groups 

living below the poverty line were 

involved in a club, 37 percent of 

children in both age groups in 

families at least 400 percent above 

the poverty threshold participated 

in clubs.

For all children aged 6 to 17, 42 

percent were involved in sports, 30 

percent were involved in lessons, 

and 28 percent were involved in 

clubs. A higher percentage of children 12 to 17 years old participated 

in sports than children 6 to 11 years 

old—45 percent and 39 percent, 

respectively (see Table 3). Some 

children participated in two of 

the three activities: 8 percent did 

sports and lessons only, 7 percent 

did sports and clubs only, and 6 

Figure 2.

Children 6 to 17 Years Old Involved in 

After-School Activities: 1998–2014

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

2014 Panel, Wave 1; 2008 Panel, Wave 10; 2008 Panel, Wave 4; 2004 Panel, 

Wave 8; 1996 Panel, Wave 12; 1996 Panel, Wave 6. 

54.5

85.0

75.6

79.8

85.4

67.5

86.5

84.2

85.8

Lessons

Sports

Percent

Clubs

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

1998 2000 2006 2009 2011 2014

Table 2.

Children Involved in Extracurricular Activities by Poverty Status

(In percent)

Poverty status Age 6 to 11 Age 12 to 17

Club Lessons Sports Club Lessons Sports

0 to under 100 percent in poverty. . . . . . . . . . . 18.5 19.6 24.1 18.6 19.4 32.9

100 to under 200 percent in poverty. . . . . . . . . 21.9 21.7 29.4 24.6 23.3 35.2

200 to under 300 percent in poverty. . . . . . . . . 29.9 31.0 39.7 30.1 28.4 44.3

300 to under 400 percent in poverty. . . . . . . . . 36.5 37.0 46.8 33.3 31.5 51.3

400 percent and over in poverty. . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.5 49.9 56.5 36.8 39.7 56.5

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2014 Panel, Wave 1.
6 U.S. Census Bureau

percent did lessons and clubs only. 

Nearly 1 in 10 children (9 percent) 

participated in all three activities. About 54 percent of children 

attended religious activities once 

a month or more. Involvement 

in religious activities is similar 

for children aged 6 to 11 and 12 

to 17. The share of children who 

attended religious activities was 

lower compared to 2006, when 

65 percent of children attended 

religious activities once a month 

or more.4

EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES

Parental Education

Parent and child education are 

closely linked: children of welleducated parents have higher 

school achievement (Davis-Kean 

2005). Figure 3 shows the percentage of children who have ever 

4 See Jane Lawler Dye and Tallese 

Johnson, “A Child’s Day: 2006 Select 

Indicators of Child Well-Being,” Current 

Population Reports, P70-118, U.S. Census 

Bureau, Washington, DC, <www.census.gov

/prod/2009pubs/p70-118.pdf>.

been expelled, have ever repeated 

a grade, and who are in gifted 

programs, by the educational level 

of the reference parent. Generally 

speaking, children from less educated families were at greater risk 

of negative school experiences. 

While being expelled from school 

is a rare experience, the percentage of children expelled at least 

once, for those whose reference 

parent did not complete high 

school, was about three times that 

for children with a collegeeducated parent (9 percent compared to 3 percent). A higher proportion of children with the least 

educated parents had repeated at 

least one grade (13 percent) compared with 4 percent of children 

with a college-educated reference 

parent. Children from educated 

families also benefited from inclusion in gifted programs more often 

than other children. Roughly 12 

percent of children whose reference parent did not finish high 

school were in a gifted program. 

For children whose parent had at 

least a bachelor’s degree, the participation rate in a gifted program 

was 32 percent.

Table 3.

Participation of Children 6 to 17 Years Old in Extracurricular 

and Religious Activities: 2014

(Numbers in thousands)

Activity Total

Age of child

6 to 11 years 12 to 17 years

Number of children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,435 24,505 24,931

Percent participating in:

 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41.6 38.7 44.5

 Lessons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.4 31.6 29.2

 Clubs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.3 27.6 28.9

 Sports and lessons only. . . . . . . . . 7.6 8.0 7.3

 Sports and clubs only. . . . . . . . . . 6.9 6.2 7.5

 Lessons and clubs only. . . . . . . . . 6.1 6.0 6.2

 All three activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.9 8.8 9.0

 Religious activities once a 

 month or more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53.5 54.1 52.9

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2014 

Panel, Wave 1.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2014 Panel, Wave 1. 

Bachelor's or higher

High school or some college

Less than high school education

Repeated a grade

8.2

4.0

7.0

2.9

11.8

19.1

32.2

13.1 8.7

Ever expelled In a gifted program

Figure 3.

Child’s Educational Experiences by Reference Parent’s Educational Attainment

(In percent)
U.S. Census Bureau 7

School Engagement

Academic success is determined in 

part by the extent to which students are engaged with school. 

School engagement broadly 

captures a child’s motivation and 

attachment to their schoolwork. 

It is associated with academic 

achievement, likelihood of behavioral problems, and likelihood of 

dropping out of school (Wang 

and Fredricks 2014; Wang and 

Holcombe 2010).

The redesigned SIPP includes four 

questions that measure children’s engagement in school. The 

engagement scale was developed 

by Jim Connell and Lisa Bridges 

at the Institute for Research and 

Reform in Education. For each 

child aged 6 to 17 enrolled in 

school, the reference parent was 

asked the extent to which the child 

did schoolwork only when forced 

to, did just enough schoolwork to 

get by, always did homework, and 

cared about doing well in school. 

The response categories for each 

included: “none of the time,” “some 

of the time,” “most of the time,” 

and “all of the time.” Table 4 shows 

the percentage of children who are 

highly engaged—those with the 

most positive values on each of the 

four measures.5 

Out of the 49.0 million children 

enrolled in school, 35 percent 

were highly engaged. More girls 

were highly engaged (42 percent), 

compared to boys (29 percent). 

The percentage of highly engaged 

White students and Black students 

5 A similar method of operationalizing 

“highly engaged” is used in Moore, Kristin, 

Jennifer Ehrle, and Brett Brown, “Children’s 

Environment and Behavior: Engagement in 

School,” Snapshots of American Families, 

Urban Institute, 1999. Here, highly engaged 

includes students who cared about school 

and did homework “all of the time,” and who 

only did work when forced and who did just 

enough to get by “none of the time.”

Table 4.

School-Enrolled Children 6 to 17 Years Old Who Were Highly 

Engaged in School by Select Characteristics: 2014—Con.

Characteristics

Number of children 

currently enrolled

(thousands)

Percent highly 

engaged

    Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,997 35.3

CHILD CHARACTERISTICS

Sex

Female. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,005 41.9

Male. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,992 29.0

Race and Hispanic Origin

White alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36,096 34.6

 Non-Hispanic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,394 35.4

Black alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,329 35.7

Asian alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,409 49.4

Hispanic (any race). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,940 32.8

Activities

Participate in sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,494 37.9

Do not participate in sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,503 33.5

Participate in lessons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,963 41.5

Do not participate in lessons. . . . . . . . . . . . 34,034 32.6

Participate in clubs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,921 39.0

Do not participate in clubs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,076 33.9

Number of Activities

0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,583 31.1

1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,857 34.9

2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,150 40.5

3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,407 42.8

School Experience

Ever repeated a grade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,724 20.6

Never repeated a grade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,273 36.5

Ever suspended or expelled. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,928 14.3

Never suspended or expelled. . . . . . . . . . . 46,069 36.6

In gifted class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,910 48.1

Not in a gifted class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,087 31.7

FAMILY AND PARENT 

CHARACTERISTICS

Marital Status

Married1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31,681 37.2

Separated, divorced, widowed. . . . . . . . . . 10,343 33.0

Never married. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,973 30.3

Educational Attainment

Less than high school. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,564 33.1

High school graduate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,190 33.2

Some college. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,140 33.0

Bachelor’s degree or higher. . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,102 40.3

Monthly Family Income

Under $1,500. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,838 31.9

$1,500 to $2,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,887 34.7

$3,000 to $4,499. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,166 32.5

$4,500 to $5,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,594 36.7

$6,000 and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,511 37.5

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

did not differ significantly (35 

percent and 36 percent, respectively). The percentage of Asian 

children who were highly engaged 

(49 percent) is higher compared 

to all other race/origin categories. 

A higher proportion of children 

were highly engaged in school if 

they played sports, took lessons, or 

were involved in clubs. They were 

also more often highly engaged 

if they were involved in multiple 

activities: 31 percent of children 

involved in no activities were highly 

engaged, compared to 35 percent of children in one activity, 41 

percent of children in two activities, and 43 percent of children 

in all three extracurricular activities. High engagement was more 

common among children in gifted 

classes (48 percent), compared to 

children not in a gifted class (32 

percent). 

Family and parental characteristics were also related to a child’s 

school engagement. About 37 

percent of children whose parents 

were married were highly engaged 

in school, compared to 30 percent 

of children of never-married parents. High engagement was more 

common among children of welleducated parents: 40 percent of 

children with a college-educated 

parent were highly engaged in 

school, compared to 33 percent 

of children whose parent has any 

of the lower levels of education. 

Family income and poverty status 

were also correlated with school 

engagement. While 32 percent 

of children from families with the 

least monthly income (less than 

$1,500) were highly engaged in 

school, this was true for 38 percent of children from families 

with monthly incomes of at least 

$6,000. Similarly, 32 percent of 

children living in poverty were 

highly engaged in school. For children from families whose incomes 

were at least four times the poverty threshold, 39 percent were 

highly engaged. School engagement also varied by a household’s 

experience with food insecurity. 

Roughly 26 percent of children in 

families reporting some experience 

with food insecurity in the past 

12 months were highly engaged.

For children living in food secure 

homes, 38 percent of them were 

highly engaged in school.

SUMMARY

This report provides a snapshot 

of the well-being of children. The 

results echo previous research 

that shows that parents today are 

highly engaged with their children 

(Sayer, Bianchi, and Robinson 

2004). A majority of young children (under 5 years old) are read 

to at least five times a week and 

go on multiple weekly outings with 

a parent. A majority of all children 

eat dinner with a parent at least 

five nights a week. 

Children’s participation in extracurricular activities have not changed 

dramatically since the late 1990s. 

Burrack et al. (2014) found that 

budget cuts to school music and 

arts programs led to teachers having to teach a broader range of 

classes outside of their expertise 

with fewer resources available. 

The findings in this report suggest that students have remained 

involved in extracurricular activities, despite widespread cuts to 

music and arts programs in public 

schools. However, a gap in participation exists between children 

from low- and high-income families. Still, many children participate in at least one extracurricular 

activity and 9 percent of children 

participate in all three types 

(sports, clubs, and lessons). While 

participation in these activities 

has remained steady, children’s 

involvement in religious activities 

has declined since 2006. This is 

consistent with research showing 

that children today participate less 

frequently in religious activities 

than previous cohorts of children 

(Twenge et al., 2015). 

Table 4.

Percent of School-Enrolled Children 6 to 17 Years Old Who 

Were Highly Engaged in School by Select Characteristics: 

2014—Con.

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristics Number of children 

currently enrolled

Percent highly 

engaged

Family Poverty Status 

Below poverty level. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,502 32.0

At or above poverty level:

 100 to 199 percent of poverty. . . . . . . . . 10,603 34.2

 200 to 299 percent of poverty. . . . . . . . . 8,177 34.1

 300 to 399 percent of poverty. . . . . . . . . 5,705 37.8

 400 percent of poverty or higher. . . . . . 13,496 38.6

Food Security

Family experienced recent food 

 insecurity2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,521 26.1

Family has not experienced recent food 

insecurity2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,476 37.5

1 Married includes married, spouse present and married, spouse absent (excluding 

separated). 2 Recent food insecurity includes the past 12 months.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2014 Panel, 

Wave 1.
U.S. Census Bureau 9

This report also analyzed children’s 

educational experiences. Parental 

education is associated with positive school outcomes, particularly 

inclusion in a gifted program. Also, 

both individual and family-level 

factors are associated with school 

engagement. Not surprisingly, high 

engagement in school was more 

common among children who participate in extracurricular activities 

compared to those who do not. 

And children who participate in 

multiple extracurricular activities 

have higher school engagement 

than children who participate in 

one activity. Markers of social and 

economic status such as parental education and poverty status 

were associated with engagement. 

There was over a 10 percentage 

point difference in the share of 

highly engaged students between 

children who experience food insecurity and those who do not. Lack 

of access to basic nutritional needs 

appears to hinder children’s school 

experiences (Alaimo et al., 2001).

SOURCE OF THE DATA

The Survey of Income and Program 

Participation (SIPP) is a nationally 

representative panel survey administered by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

The population represented (the 

population universe) in the 2014 

SIPP is the civilian noninstitutionalized population living in the United 

States. Each SIPP panel follows 

individuals for several years, providing monthly data that measures 

changes in household and family 

composition and economic circumstances over time. The data in this 

report were collected from the first 

wave of the 2014 SIPP Panel. 

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 related to the well-being 

of individuals and families is also 

collected. For more information, 

please visit the SIPP Web site at 

<www.census.gov/sipp>.

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 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. To minimize these errors, 

the Census Bureau employs quality 

control procedures throughout the 

production process, including the 

overall design of surveys, wording 

of questions, review of the work of 

interviewers and coders, and the 

statistical review of reports. 

Some estimates in this report have 

response rates below 70 percent. 

To see the nonresponse bias study 

for the 2014 SIPP, please visit 

<www.census.gov

/programs-surveys/sipp

/tech-documentation

/nonresponse-reports

/2014nonresponse-reports.html>. 

For further information on the 

source of the data and accuracy of 

the estimates including standard 

errors and confidence intervals, 

go to <www.census.gov/programs 

-surveys/sipp/tech-documentation 

/source-accuracy-statements.

html> (SIPP Panel Source and 

Accuracy Statements) or contact Mahdi S. Sundukchi of the 

Census Bureau’s Demographic 

Statistical Methods Division at 

<mahdi.s.sundukchi@census.gov>. 

Additional information on the SIPP 

can be found at the following Web 

sites: <www.census.gov/sipp/> 

(main SIPP Web site) and 

<www.census.gov/content/dam

/Census/programs-surveys/sipp

/methodology/2014-SIPP-Panel 

-Users-Guide.pdf> (SIPP User’s 

Guide).

CONTACTS

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.

Brian Knop

brian.michael.knop@census.gov

Julie Siebens

julie.siebens@census.gov
10 U.S. Census Bureau

SUGGESTED CITATION

Knop, Brian, and Julie Siebens, 

2018, “A Child’s Day: Parental 

Interaction, School Engagement, 

and Extracurricular Activities: 

2014,” Current Population Reports, 

P70-159, U.S. Census Bureau, 

Washington, DC.

REFERENCES

Alaimo, Katherine, Christine M. 

Olson, and Edward A. Frongillo, 

“Food insufficiency and 

American school-aged 

children’s cognitive, academic, 

and psychosocial development,” 

Pediatrics, 108, no. 1: 2001, 

44–53.

Benetsky, Megan J., Charlynn Burd, 

and Melanie Rapino, “Young 

Adult Migration: 2007–2009 

to 2010–2012,” American 

Community Survey Reports, 

ACS-31, U.S. Census Bureau, 

Washington, DC, 2015.

Burrack, Frederick William, Phillip 

Payne, Dale E. Bazan, and 

Daniel S. Hellman, “The impact 

of budget cutbacks on music 

teaching positions and district 

funding in three Midwestern 

states,” Update: Applications of 

Research in Music Education,

33, no. 1: 2014, 36–41.

Covay, Elizabeth, and William 

Carbonaro, “After the bell: 

Participation in extracurricular 

activities, classroom behavior, 

and academic achievement,” 

Sociology of Education, 83, 

no. 1: 2010, 20–45.

Davis-Kean, Pamela E, “The 

influence of parent education 

and family income on child 

achievement: the indirect role 

of parental expectations and 

the home environment,” Journal 

of Family Psychology, 19, no. 2: 

2005, 294.

Eisenberg, Marla E., Rachel E. 

Olson, Dianne NeumarkSztainer, Mary Story, and Linda 

H. Bearinger, “Correlations 

between family meals and 

psychosocial well-being 

among adolescents,” Archives 

of Pediatrics & Adolescent 

Medicine, 158, no. 8: 2004, 

792–796.

Fredricks, Jennifer A., and 

Jacquelynne S. Eccles, 

“Participation in extracurricular 

activities in the middle school 

years: Are there developmental 

benefits for African American 

and European American 

youth?” Journal of Youth and 

Adolescence, 37, no. 9: 2008, 

1029–1043.

Lonigan, Christopher J., and 

Grover J. Whitehurst, “Relative 

efficacy of parent and teacher 

involvement in a shared-reading 

intervention for preschool 

children from low-income 

backgrounds,” Early Childhood 

Research Quarterly, 13, no. 2, 

1998, 263–290.

Sayer, Liana C., Suzanne M. 

Bianchi, and John P. Robinson, 

“Are parents investing less in 

children? Trends in mothers’ 

and fathers’ time with children,” 

American Journal of Sociology

110, no. 1: 2004, 1–43.

Twenge, Jean M., Julie J. Exline, 

Joshua B. Grubbs, Ramya 

Sastry, and W. Keith Campbell, 

“Generational and time period 

differences in American adolescents’ religious orientation, 

1966–2014,” PloS one, 10, no. 5: 

2015, e0121454.

Wang and Fredricks, “The 

Reciprocal Links Between 

School Engagement, Youth 

Problem Behaviors, and School 

Dropout During Adolescence,” 

Child Development, Volume 85, 

Issue 2, 2014, pp. 722–737.

Wang, Ming-Te, and Rebecca 

Holcombe, “Adolescents’ 

perceptions of school 

environment, engagement, and 

academic achievement in 

middle school,” American 

Educational Research Journal,

47, no. 3: 2010, 633–662.
U.S. Census Bureau 11

Appendix Table A.

Selected Measures of Child Well-Being Question Text

Child well-being measure Question text Answer text Universe

Shared mealtimes How many days in a typical 

week did reference parent 

eat dinner with child/

children?

How many days in a typical 

week did other parent eat 

dinner with child/children?

0. None

1. One day

2. Two days

3. Three days

4. Four days

5. Five days

6. Six days

7. Seven days

Children 0 to 17 years old

Reading practices How many days in a typical 

week did reference parent 

read to child/children?

0. None

1. One day

2. Two days

3. Three days

4. Four days

5. Five days

6. Six days

7. Seven days

Children 0 to 5 years old

Outings How many days in a typical 

week did reference parent 

take child/children on any 

kind of outings?

How many days in a typical 

week did other parent take 

child/children on any kind of 

outings?

0. None

1. One day

2. Two days

3. Three days

4. Four days

5. Five days

6. Six days

7. Seven days

Children 0 to 5 years old

Academic performance Has child repeated a grade or 

been held back?

Has child ever been suspended or expelled from 

school?

Is child in a gifted class/

classes?

1. Yes

2. No

Children 6 to 17 years old

Extracurricular activities Does child play on a sports 

team in or out of school?

Does child take lessons after 

school (music, dance, language, etc.)? 

Does child participate in any 

clubs or organizations after 

school or on the weekends?

1. Yes

2. No

Children 6 to 17 years old

School engagement Does child care about 

school? 

Does child only do schoolwork when forced?

Does child do just enough to 

get by in school?

Does child do homework?

1. All of the time

2. Most of the time

3. Some of the time

4. None of the time

6. Not enrolled

Children 6 to 17 years old