7 Demography of Childhood

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the demography of children. We first examine the subject in the context of the United States, followed by an international lens. Included in our chapter are statistics and discussions regarding child populations, as well as, child-related demographic elements such as fertility, mortality and migration. We also provide trends on critical socio-demographic factors that interact to shape the lives of children, including families, education, and child poverty. Although the main focus of this chapter is on children defined as the population from birth through age 17, differences in life experiences for young kids and adolescents are also discussed. Some geographic and regional trends are also presented. Additionally, we consider the organizational infrastructure for the worldwide collection of demographic data on children, as well as, the expansion of projects designed to provide indicators of child well-being.

Appendices

Appendices

Appendix A: Data on Children

One of the clear trends over the past few decades, both in the United States and internationally, is the expanded availability of high quality data on children. In recent years, researchers and professionals have successfully advocated for improvements and expansions to data on children and their families. Here are a few examples.

In the United States there are several nationally representative surveys that include topics related to children. The American Community Survey (ACS) is the largest survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and provides 1-year and 5-year estimates at the national, state, county and subcounty level on the demographic, social, economic and housing characteristics of U.S. children and their households (U.S. Census Bureau 2018a). The Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS) gathers the same information for Puerto Rico as does the ACS for the United States (U.S. Census Bureau 2018b). The Current Population Survey (CPS), another U.S. Census survey, focuses on gathering national level information on employment and labor, and also collects detailed parent, spouse and partner information (U.S. Census Bureau 2018c). The CPS is semi-longitudinal because it selects a house for interview and then interviews its residents again 4 months later to collect data on work dynamics. The U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation, which has been in the field since the early 1980s, provides data on child transitions, for example into or out of poverty, over a period of 3 years (U.S. Census Bureau 2018d). The National Survey of Family Growth asks many questions on family dynamics, fertility and health (National Center for Health Statistics 2018). The National Longitudinal Surveys are surveys that gather information on the labor market and other significant life events on an annual or biannual basis (Bureau of Labor Statistics 2018). They have been gathering information for decades on different cohorts of men, women and youth. The Panel Study of Income Dynamics, conducted by the University of Michigan, has followed the same set of families since 1968, collecting data on employment, income, health, marriage, childbearing, child development and many other topics (Institute for Social Research 2018).

Over the past two decades there has also been an increase in the number of researchers and research projects in the United States providing data on child well-being indicators, often demographic in nature. This development has been documented by O’Hare (2012, 2014a). For example, every year since 1990, the Annie E. Casey Foundation has published a KID COUNT Data Book (2017a) which documents the well-being of children in every state. Starting in 1997, the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics has issued a yearly publication titled “America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-being” (2017). This report provides detailed national statistics from different government agencies on topics including children’s population estimates, families and health, among many others.

Some great sources of demographic information on children are available for countries across the world. The United Nations (UN) gathers data from local surveys and censuses, harmonizes them across countries, and provides a data tool from which users can create custom made tabulations on topics such as population, health, fertility and education (United Nations 2018). Within the UN, UNICEF is the division that provides information across a range of topics about children in the world (UNICEF 2018a). The UN also provides data sheets, reports and research papers on many topics. In addition, the UN conducts Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys that provide statistically sound information on the wellbeing of children and women for a large set of countries around the world (UNICEF 2018b). Similarly, the World Bank Group collects information on developing countries and provides information on national wellbeing indicators (World Bank 2018). The International Labour Organization (ILO) provides information on labor and unemployment and breaks it down by age (ILO 2018). The Population Reference Bureau gathers data and publishes on a range of topics related to demographic issues in the United States and in the world (PRB 2018). The Demographic Health Surveys provide data on countries on a wide range of indicators in the areas of population, health, and nutrition (DHS 2018).

One emerging data issue on children is the extent of the undercount of children, particularly young children, in censuses and surveys across countries (Jensen and Hogan 2017; O’Hare 2015, 2017). In the 2010 U.S. Census, young children had the highest net undercount, and highest omission rate, of any age group which resulted in the exclusion of over 10% of young children (U.S. Census Bureau 2016). There is no single reason to explain this undercount, but it does highlight the importance of continuing research to gather accurate information on this segment of the population.

Appendix B: Developing Infrastructure to Monitor Children’s Lives

Over the last 20 years, nations have not only been called on to raise the issue of children’s well-being higher on their agendas, they have also been asked to make specific commitments to improve the measurement of children’s well-being including health, education, and poverty. This changing landscape has led to improvements in data collection, monitoring, and accountability. Nations and the international community more generally have been guided by the framework specified in the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted in 1989. It is noteworthy that the United States, along with South Sudan and Somalia, were the only three countries that did not sign the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. Commitments to improve children’s well-being were also made in 2000 by all the UN Member States through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The MDGs called on countries to reduce by one-half the proportion of the world’s population whose income is less than $1.25 a day and the proportion of people who suffer from hunger, to improve maternal health and to reduce child mortality, and to ensure that boys and girls everywhere will be able to complete primary schooling (United Nations 2015). Since the poverty rate for children is nearly always higher than that for adults, the MDGs have special relevance for children around the globe.

Other organizations have taken a similar approach. ILO’s Convention of 1999 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor requests that ratifying countries take time-bound measures to eradicate the worst forms of child labor. Similarly, the United States Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation identifies countries for funding and monitors their performance based on 16 indicators in three broad areas, namely, “Ruling Justly,” “Investing in People,” and “Economic Freedom.”

The increasing interest in accountability and monitoring has resulted in the production of child indicator reports on a regular basis. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), for example, publishes State of the World’s Children, a report presenting statistical information to document the lives of children around the world. In addition, the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre has produced a series of report cards on the well-being of children. UNESCO has also prepared numerous publications and statistical indicators databases to monitor countries’ progress in improving access to quality education. The Organization of Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) publishes indicator data on a number of different dimensions including health, education, economics, employment and other social and welfare issues for 30 OECD countries.

These developments are linked to the creation of the International Society for Child Indicators in 2006 which provides a foundation and a framework where scholars and researchers interested in tracking the well-being of children can share ideas about important aspects of children’s lives and how they can be best measured and reported. The emergence of these efforts to measure and monitor the well-being of children reflects a growing interest among nations and international organizations to track the results of their efforts to improve the lives of children.