Interesting statistical nuggets on the life of the average American child were released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. Data geeks can go here for the tables, but here are the highlights:
- Fewer sports: 36 percent of children (ages 6 to 17) played sports in 2009, down from 41 percent in 2006.
- More family dinners: Children eating dinner with parents seven times per week increased from 69 percent in 1998 to 72 percent in 2009.
- More talk/play time: Children who talked or played at least three times daily with their parents increased from 50 percent in 1998 to 57 percent in 2009.
- More reading time: 56 percent of toddlers in families above the poverty threshold were read to at least seven times per week in 2009. That compared to 45 percent of children in impoverished families that year. The good news, though, is that regular reading improved among impoverished families, as the rate was only 37 percent in 1998.
- More AP classes: 27 percent of children ages 12 to 17 were involved in gifted classes in 2009, up from 21 percent in 1998.
Taken together, the data offer a somewhat rosy picture of American children (more reading, more quality time, etc.) It's possible that rising unemployment played a role -- making sports unaffordable for some families and also leaving some parents with more time to interact with their kids. (Sports participation was much higher for children ages 6 to 11 whose parents worked full time in 2009 (36 percent) compared to children whose parents didn't work (25 percent). What is your take on these numbers?
