Minorities represent one-third of children in classes for the gifted, but parents stop enforcing TV restrictions and spend less time bonding with their children over dinner as their children grow up, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The data in “A Child’s Day” examines the daily activities and well-being of children and is based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2003 Survey of Income and Program Participation. Key findings:
· Minorities represented one-third of gifted children. Between the ages of 12 and 17, roughly 25 percent of all children were in gifted or advanced classes. However, minorities are not well represented in these classes. Specifically, Blacks make up only 15.9 percent of children in gifted classes, while Hispanics represent 16.5 percent. Whites, meanwhile, represented 78.7 percent of the total gifted class.
· Almost one-third (29 percent) of all Asians between the ages of 12 and 17 repeated a grade in 2003, while 17.3 of Hispanic children, 19.7 percent of Blacks and 24.2 percent of Whites did.
· Roughly 38 percent of all children under the age of 12 are cared for regularly in a non-relative childcare arrangement. On average, Hispanics are the least likely to use such a system, while Blacks are the most likely.
Reading to Children
Hispanic parents are the most likely not to read to their children, with 22.1 percent not reading to their 1- and 2-year-olds, and 14.8 percent not reading to their 3- to 5-year-olds. Whites are the most likely to read to their children, with 91.4 percent reading to their 1- and 2-year-olds, and 93.6 percent to their 3- to 5-year olds. Only 38.2 percent of Blacks will read to their 1- to 5-year-old children 7 or more times per week, compared to 35.8 percent of Hispanics, 51.3 percent of Asians, and 53.3 percent of Whites.
