Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 20, 1994 TAG: 9405200074
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Census estimated that 7.6 percent of grade-school-age children care for themselves for at least part of the time their mothers are working.
The report didn't detail numbers by individual years, but Census population expert Martin O'Connell said two-thirds of those left to look out for themselves were 12, 13 or 14.
``As they get older the children become more responsible; it's the process of growing up,'' O'Connell explained Thursday. A separate question on the care of children under age 5 found none listed as left alone.
The mother's working hours were a prime factor in determining whether a youngster spent time alone.
The work schedule is usually set by the employer and the school schedule by the school board and ``often the twain do not meet,'' he observed.
The report was based on a survey of 13,600 households between October 1991 and January 1992.
O'Connell said the report may understate the number of children who are home alone. A comparison of the hours worked by mothers and the hours they said their children were being cared for by someone indicate more kids alone than the mothers listed in the survey, he said.
The study ``Who's Minding the Kids,'' looked into the child-care arrangements of the 21.2 million children, aged 5 to 14, of working mothers. It found that:
About 76 percent spent most of their time in school when their mothers were working.
Fathers cared for the children of 8.4 percent of working mothers who were married and less than 1 percent of working mothers who were not married.
Other relatives cared for 10.2 percent of the children of single mothers, compared with 3.8 percent for married working mothers.
For preschoolers, 23 percent were in organized child-care facilities when mother worked, 20 percent were cared for by father, 18 percent were with other family. Others were cared for by nonrelatives or taken to work with mother.
Paid child-care cost an average of $2.15 per hour in organized facilities, $1.93 per hour for nonrelative care at that person's home and $2.73 per hour when a nonrelative came to the child's home.
O'Connell said he wasn't sure if a recent increase in the number of fathers caring for children represents a trend.
The study was conducted at a time when the economy was slow and many fathers may simply have been home because they were out of work. He said he wanted to reserve a decision until new studies could look at what would occur when more fathers were working again.
The report found that Midwestern children were most likely to be left alone at some point, 12.1 percent. There were 7.5 percent home alone in the West, 5.7 percent in the Northeast and 4.8 percent in the South.
by CNB