Description

CHILD reports whether a child under 18 years old was present during the reported activity. This information may come from "who" codes or from activities performed with children.

For a more detailed data sample of the number of children under 18 years old in the household, users may refer to UNDER18. Users who are interested in a complete record of adult 18+ living with co-resident child aged younger than 5 or aged 5-17 may refer to FAMSTAT.

Users who want more details about other presence may refer to INFANT, HHADULT, ANIMAL, SPPART, OTHERP, SHOPROF, COWORK, CLSFAM, WELLKNW, and UNKNWP. The relationship between who variables is documented here.

CHILD is only available if you select a hierarchical extract. If you request a hierarchical extract and plan to construct time use variables in your statistics package, this variable may be useful to you. Alternatively, you may use CHILD to construct a time use variable as part of this system.

Comparability

CHILD was created differently in some years. Users should take that into account in their analyses. This comparability documentation is adapted from the Oxford Harmonization files.

• 1965-66: If children of household, relatives and friends outside household, neighbors as well as others in the "who with" variables are present during activities relating to care to babies, care to older children, reading of tales or other non-school books to children, indoor games and manual instruction, outdoor games and walks, medical care, or other activities related to the health of children, babysitting as well as travel to accompany children, this variable takes the value of 1.

• 1975-76: During activities relating to care of babies aged under 5 years old, care for children of mixed ages, teaching skill, helping with homework, reading to/talking with child, playing with child inside, sports/walking with child outside, medical care for child, or unpaid babysitting, this variable is coded as 1.

• 1985: If an INFANT is present or the activities relate to child care, helping/teaching children learn, helping children with homework, indoor activities with children, coaching/leading outdoors, other outdoor activities with children, or during daycare/nursery child codes, this variable is coded as 1.

• 1993-94: During activities relating to baby care, child care, helping/teaching kids, indoor playing, outdoor playing, medical care for child, other general child care, or travel related to child care, CHILD is coded as 1.

• 1995: During activities relating to baby care, child care, helping/teaching kids, indoor playing, outdoor playing, medical care for child, other general child care, CHILD is coded as 1.

• 1998-01: If the respondents report the presence of child(ren) only or spouse and child(ren) in the "who with" variables, CHILD is coded as 1.

• 2003-present: Individuals who are less than 18 years old and not a spouse or unmarried partner are coded as child. Further during activities relating to care for household children including physical care, reading to and playing with children, arts and crafts with, talking with/listening to, teaching, and looking after household children; CHILD takes the value of 1. During other activities such as picking up or dropping children, or other activities under care for and activities involving non-household children, this is also coded as 1.

Universe

Availability

• 1965, 1975, 1985, 1993, 1995, 1998, 2003-2012, 2018

Flags