Children

The population of children in the U.S., defined as boys and girls ages 0- to 11-year-olds totaled 50.5 million in 2011. The kids population is expected to increase to 55.9 million in 2021, and to grow to 59.1 million in 2031. Early on in this 20-year span, the population of 0-5 year olds will be larger than that of 6-11 year olds; however, by the end of the period, as the younger group ages, the groups will reach close to parity.

Since 1970 the proportion of children under the age of 18 who are living with both parents has declined significantly. However, a substantial majority of 0- to 11-year-olds still live in two-parent households. Asian kids (85%) are most likely to be living with both parents while black kids (34%) are least likely.

Between 1994 and 2006, an increasing percentage of children in married-couple families had a parent staying at home rather than working. The proportion of children with a stay-at-home parent grew from 23% to 28% during this period.

Today’s kids are on the cutting edge of the digital revolution. They move seamlessly from sitting in front of Saturday morning TV to watching video on their PCs and downloading music on their mobile phones. They shift effortlessly from playing with traditional toys and dolls in the physical world to creating avatars they can use to live and play in virtual worlds.

Television still maintains its hold on kids and tweens. Nevertheless, the supremacy of television in the kids media market is under assault. Media and marketing executives are making major investments in multi-platform strategies based upon the premise that the primacy of kids television as a stand-alone medium will soon be over, if it has not already ended.