Pandemic Brought Parents and Children Closer: More Family Dinners, More Reading to Young Children

The Covid-19 pandemic upended many family dynamics but one positive consequence of this upheaval: Parents shared more dinners and read to their children more often, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP).

Many families spent extra time together in spring and summer 2020, when lockdowns were in place in many parts of the United States.

In 2020, 69% of parents reported reading to young children five or more times per week compared with 65% in 2018, and 64% in 2019.

Most interviews for the 2020 SIPP were conducted during March-June 2020. The data show that parental interactions with children changed from prior years: While parents shared more dinners and read to children more often in 2020, they also took them on fewer outings.

There were, however, big differences depending on parents’ socioeconomic characteristics. Frequent outings with young children dropped for most parents, but more so for parents with fewer economic resources. And parents who were married and more educated read more often to young children.

SIPP and Parental Involvement

The SIPP collects information on child well-being, including details on parental involvement with children.

Specifically, it asks a reference parent (usually the mother) to identify the number of times in a typical week they had dinner with their children ages 0-17 and how many times another parent (usually the spouse or cohabiting partner of the reference parent) did.

The survey also asks how many outings the reference parent or other parent took their young children ages 0-5 on and whether they or another family member read to them. All of these behaviors have been associated with improved child well-being and family dynamics. All estimates shown are at the reference-parent level at the time of interview.

In recent decades, parents have been highly engaged with children. Since 1998, at least 80% of children ate dinner with their parent often (five or more times per week). Since 2014, about 80% of children were often taken on outings by their parents (two or more times per week) and at least 48% of young children were read to by parents often (five or more times per week).

Impact of COVID-19 on Parental Involvement

Most likely as a result of Covid-19 lockdowns in early 2020, the proportion of parents taking their young children on outings two or more times a week dropped from 87% in 2019 to 82% in 2020. The frequency of children’s weekly outings with their other parent were not statistically different across those same years (about 67%).

In contrast, parents shared more weekly meals with children ages 0-17.

There was only a one percentage point increase in shared dinners from 2018 (84%) and 2020 (85%). But the change was statistically significant and coupled with the dip in outings, resulted in shared meals becoming the most common type of parental involvement in 2020.

The proportion of shared meals between children and their other parent, as reported by the reference parent, also rose, from 56% in 2018 to 63% in 2020.

Yeris Mayol-Garcia is a survey statistician in the Census Bureau’s Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division.

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