How Do Children Spend Their Time? Children's Activities, School Achievement, and Well-Being. Research on Today's Issues, Issue No. 11.

This briefing paper describes research findings on factors linked to children's school achievement and emotional adjustment. The findings are based on the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a nationally representative, longitudinal study of children and families conducted at the University of Michigan and supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The study found that parents who have high expectations for their children and spend time with them have children who achieve at higher levels than other children. The paper discusses: (1) the factors linked to achievement and adjustment (warm relationships, reading versus television, school involvement, school stability); (2) other family factors related to child well-being (parents' education levels, family size and structure, and health); and (3) changes in how children spend their time from 1981 to 1997, which indicate that children have less time to spend in free play. (EV)