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| In
Brief: Who's Taking Care of the Kids While School is Out?
A recent report by The Urban Institute examines differences between how school-aged children with working parents spend their out-of-school time during the school year versus during the summer. The study used data from the 1999 National Survey of America's Families to assess the summer care arrangements for a sample of school-aged children between the ages of six- and thirteen-years-old. The study finds that supervised child care plays a large role in arrangements for children over the summer months, and that children spend significantly more time in structured care arrangements over the summer than during the school year. During the summer, approximately one-third of elementary children are cared for by relatives, 30% are cared for primarily by parents or do not have regular nonparental care arrangements, 24% participate in organized programs such as camp, and substantially fewer children are cared for in family care settings or by a nanny or sitter. Furthermore, one in ten children regularly spends time by himself or alone with a sibling under the age of 13, and these children tended to spend twice as much time (six hours or more per week) unsupervised as they did during the school year. However, fewer low-income families and families with younger children use self-care during the summer than during the school year, and a smaller percentage of children who care for themselves are exclusively in self-care over the summer months. The authors of the report conclude that policy makers need to be aware of the seasonal patterns of care that affect children and families. Over the summer, families face difficult decisions about how to care for their school-aged children while working, with more out-of-school time to fill with care arrangements. Source:
For
more information: Facts in Action, August 2002 |
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