Interesting findings from the study
A look at the families in the study after wave 1:
- 74% of the children in the study were living in two-parent families.
- 80% of the children were living with siblings.
- 11% of families had extended family members living with them and 2% had non-family members living with them.
- The average age of mothers (or female guardians) was 32, while for fathers (or male guardians) it was 35.
- The average number of people in each household was 4.
- 97% of study children were born in Australia, however 33% were living with a parent or guardian that was born overseas.
- 8% of the study children were of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin.
- 78% of parents rated their children's health as either "very good or excellent", however when asked to rate their own health only 60% gave one of these responses.
- 70% of parents felt that their neighbourhood was either a "good" or "very good" place to raise children.
A look at change for families between wave 1 and wave 2
Change is a natural part of family life. Since the first round of the study, many families have changed size, parents have changed jobs and some have completed study. A few details are listed here.
- 17.4% of families had moved house since the first round of interviews
- 353 (16%) parents in the study have given birth or been pregnant since the first round of interviews
- A total of 179 parents (8.2%) were promoted in their job
- 4% of parents who are the primary carer were studying full-time and 8.8% were studying part-time
- Congratulations to the 300 parents who completed further educational qualifications! These included advanced diplomas, bachelor degrees and trade certificates.
Child care
Access to child care is a major concern for parents juggling work and family responsibilities. Families in the study had varied child care arrangements, with child care centres being the most commonly used.
- Three quarters (75%) of children were in some form of non-parental care in the month prior to the interview.
- Child care centres were the main type of care for 38% of children followed by 13% in preschool, almost 9.4% in grandparent care and almost 6% in family day care.
NOTE: Any information that could identify you or your family is always removed from the study data before it is made available to researchers. The Australian Institute of Family Studies has to meet rigorous ethical standards to ensure that our participants’ privacy is protected and confidentiality of information is maintained at all times.