Children about 9 months of age without family risk factors, such as poverty, are more likely to have family members who read to them, tell them stories, and sing to them daily.

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS–B) has been collecting information on a cohort of children who were born in 2001 and will follow them through 2007, when most will have entered 1st grade. The study focuses on children’s early development, specifically looking at how American parents raise, nurture, and prepare their children for school. More than 60 percent of children who were about 9 months of age in 2001–02 had a family member sing to them, take them on errands, and play peek-a-boo daily (see table 35-1). In addition, on a daily basis, 47 percent of children also were taken outside for play, 33 percent were read to, and 27 percent were told stories by a family member.

The number of family risk factors (living in a household below the poverty level, having a non-English primary home language, having a mother whose highest education was less than a high school diploma or equivalent, and living in a single-parent household) was negatively associated with children about 9 months of age on a daily basis being read to, told stories, or sung to by a family member.

Several demographic characteristics were also related to the likelihood of families undertaking these activities with children about 9 months of age on a daily basis. White children were more likely to have been read to than those in other racial/ethnic groups and more likely than all except Asian/Pacific Islander children to be told stories daily. Asian/Pacific Islander children were less likely than children in other groups to be taken on errands. Mother’s education was positively associated with the likelihood of children being read to, sung to, and told stories daily by family members. Reading, singing, and playing peek-a-boo were also positively associated with speaking English as the primary language in the home and negatively associated with poverty.

Another aspect of a child’s development is the acquisition of motor skills, such as independent walking, and mental skills, such as exploring purposefully and babbling. Because children about 9 months of age are rapidly acquiring these skills, their age at the time of the assessment had a significant impact on the results (see tables 35-2 and 35-3). Little variation in mental and motor skills was found by any demographic characteristic among children of this age in 2001–02.