Children’s interactions with parents, involvement in extracurricular activities, and engagement in school are linked to emotional support and security, social and cognitive development, academic success, social skills, and other aspects of child well-being (Eisenberg et al., 2004; Kalb and van Ours, 2014; Metsäpelto and Pulkkinen, 2014; Felfe et al., 2016; Barger et al., 2019). Past reports have explored variation in child-parent interaction, extracurriculars, and school engagement by race, ethnicity, poverty status, and other social characteristics. However, little is known about these patterns following the COVID-19 pandemic.

This report uses the Survey of Income Program Participation (SIPP) to examine various child well-being measures. The last report examining child well-being using SIPP data was released in 2018 using Wave 1 of the 2014 SIPP. We provide updated estimates in this report using the 2023 SIPP, with particular attention to the most recent data as well as to trends over time. First, we provide estimates related to family and household characteristics. Second, we discuss patterns in parental interaction. More specifically, we showcase trends in how frequently children are read to, how often they go on outings with parents, and how often they eat dinner with their families.