Children

How many children, if any, have you had?

	None	One	Two	Three	Four	Five or more	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
2023 Jun-Jul	31	14	28	15	7	5	1
2018 Jun 1-13	30	14	26	17	6	6	1
2013 Aug 22-31 ^	25	15	26	17	9	7	*
2003 Jul 18-20	28	15	25	15	10	6	1
1990 Apr 19-22	26	14	26	16	8	10	--
* Less than 0.5%; ^ WORDING: How many children do you hav?
Gallup

How many children do you have? (Asked of those aged 18 to 40 with no children) Do you want to have children someday, or not? (Asked of those aged 41 and older) If you had to do it over again, how many children would you have, or would you not have any at all?

Combined results based on national adults

	2023 Jun-Jul	2018 Jun 1-13	2013 Aug 22-31	2003 Jul 18-20	1990 Apr 19-22
	%	%	%	%	%
Have children	69	69	74	72	73
Do not have but want to have children	15	17	16	16	17
Do not have children but would like to have had	6	5	3	6	3
Do not want children	8	8	5	4	4
No opinion	2	2	1	2	3
Gallup

Have any of your school-aged children expressed any worry or concern about feeling unsafe at their school when they go back to school this fall?

Based on K-12 parents

	Yes	No	No opinion
	%	%	%
2023 Aug 1-23	14	86	*
2022 Aug 1-23	20	80	--
2019 Aug 1-14	12	88	--
2018 Aug 1-12	20	79	1
2017 Aug 2-6	6	94	--
2016 Aug 3-7	13	87	--
2015 Aug 5-9	10	89	*
2014 Aug 7-10	8	92	--
2013 Aug 7-11	10	89	1
2012 Aug 9-12	12	85	3
2009 Mar 27-29^	10	90	--
2008 Aug 7-10	8	91	1
2007 Aug 13-16	12	87	1
2006 Oct 6-8 ^	12	88	--
2007 Aug 7-10	11	87	2
2004 Aug 9-11	10	89	1
2003 Aug 4-6	8	91	1
2001 Mar 9-11 #	22	77	1
2000 Aug 24-27	8	92	*
1999 Aug 24-26	18	82	*
* Less than 0.5%; ^ WORDING: Have any of your school-aged children expressed any worry or concern about feeling unsafe at their school?; # WORDING: Have any of your school-aged children expressed any worry or concern about feeling unsafe at their school when they go to school?
Gallup

Suppose you could only have one child. Would you prefer that it be a boy or a girl?

	Boy	Girl	Doesn't matter (vol.)	Unsure/No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2018 Jun 1-13	36	28	28	7
2011 Jun 9-12	40	28	26	6
2007 Jun 11-14	37	28	26	9
2003 Jul 18-20	38	28	27	7
2000 Dec 2-4	42	27	25	6
1997 May 6-7	36	23	38	3
1997 Feb 24-26	41	29	25	5
1996 Feb 23-25	41	31	25	3
1990 Apr 19-22 #	38	34	24	4
1947 Sep 12-17 #	40	25	27	8
1941 Mar 21-26 @	38	24	23	15
(vol.) = Volunteered response; #WORDING: If you had another child would you rather have a boy or a girl?; @ WORDING: If you could have only one (one more) child, which would you prefer to have -- a boy, or a girl?
Gallup

Which do you, yourself, think is easier to raise -- a boy or a girl?

	Boy	Girl	No difference (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2018 Jun 1-13	54	27	14	5
2000 Dec 2-4	53	28	14	5
1997 Feb 24-26	49	30	14	7
1996 Feb 23-25	51	29	12	8
1990 Apr 19-20	43	27	23	7
1947 Sep 12-17	42	24	24	10
(vol.)=volunteered response
Gallup

Do you approve or disapprove of spanking children?

	Approve	Disapprove	No opinion
	%	%	%
National adults
2016 Jun 14-23	64	35	2
1997 Feb 24-26	65	32	3
1990 Apr 19-22	65	25	10
1946 Aug 30-Sep 4	--	--	--
Parents
2016 Jun 14-23	62	38	*
1997 Feb 24-26	66	31	3
1990 Apr 19-22	--	--	--
1946 Aug 30-Sep 4	74	24	2
* Less than 0.5%
Gallup

How many nights a week out of seven does your family eat dinner together at home?

Based on parents of children under age 18

	0-2	3	4	5	6	7	Other/No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
2013 Dec 5-8	13	8	10	18	15	38	*
2005 Dec 5-8	12	8	13	15	17	35	*
2003 Dec 11-14	17	7	11	22	14	28	*
2001 Dec 6-9	14	8	10	19	12	38	*
1997 Feb 24-26	10	6	11	20	15	37	2
* Less than 0.5%
Gallup

What do you think are the main reasons why couples do not have more children? [OPEN-ENDED]

	2013 Aug 22-31
	%
Not enough money/Cost of raising child	65
The state of the economy/Jobs	11
Personal choice/No desire for children	6
Poor society/Living in difficult times/Difficult environment	5
Too selfish/Feel children interfere with personal freedom	4
Single-parent homes/Divorce/Lack of commitment to marriage	3
Lack of time/Too busy/Too time consuming	3
Too many women working/Both parents work/Career concerns	3
Children are hard work/Stressful	3
Unable to have children/Cannot conceive	2
Responsibilities involved/Too much responsibility	2
Wife or husband not in good health	1
Parents are older/Waited to have children	1
Cost of education	1
Too many children already/Concerned about overpopulation	1
Uncertainty about the future/Future is bleak	1
Just don't like children	1
Other	1
No opinion	6
Percentages total more than 100% due to multiple responses
Gallup

In your view, what is the ideal age for a woman to have her first child?

	Under 21	21-24	25-29	30 or older	No opinion	Mean
	%	%	%	%	%
2013 Aug 22-31	9	23	48	15	6	25.3
Gallup

In your view, what is the ideal age for a man to have his first child?

	Under 21	21-24	25-29	30 or older	No opinion	Mean
	%	%	%	%	%
2013 Aug 22-31	5	15	45	30	6	27
Gallup

How old were you when you had your first child?

Based on parents

	Under 21	21-24	25-29	30 or older	No opinion	Mean
	%	%	%	%	%
All parents	29	28	23	18	1	24.2
Mothers	37	28	20	13	1	23.1
Fathers	19	28	27	24	1	25.6
2013 Aug 22-31
Gallup

In your opinion, how likely is it that these kinds of school shootings could happen in your community, is it -- very likely, somewhat likely, somewhat unlikely or very unlikely?

	Very likely	Somewhat likely	Somewhat unlikely	Very unlikely	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%
Newtown, CT
2012 Dec 19-22	22	30	22	23	3
Red Lake, MN
2005 March 22	30	43	12	12	3
Littleton, CO
1999 April 21	20	38	14	15	3
Gallup

Do you think the school your oldest child attends is or is not doing enough to prevent a similar shooting?

Based on parents of children in grades kindergarten through 12

	Yes, is doing enough	No, is not	No opinion
	%	%	%
2012 Dec 19-22	56	34	10
Gallup

Suppose an unmarried couple lives together with children in the household. Do you think that has a -- [ROTATED: positive effect on the children, does it not make a difference (or does it have a) negative effect on the children]?

	Positive effect	No difference	Negative effect	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2008 Jul 25-27	12	47	38	3
Gallup

Thinking about the number of overweight children there are in the United States today, would you say this is an extremely serious problem, a very serious problem, a moderately serious problem or not a serious problem?

	Extremely serious	Very serious	Moderately serious	Not serious	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%
2006 Feb 9-12	26	41	29	3	1
Gallup

Suppose scientific discoveries make it possible for parents to select genetic traits such as intelligence, height or artistic talent when planning to have a child. Which comes closer to your view -- [ROTATED: parents should be allowed to select the traits they wish their child to have (or) parents should not be allowed to select the traits for their child and the child should be born with whatever traits it would naturally have]?

	Should be able to	Should not be able to	No opinion
	%	%	%
2003 Jan 23-25 ^	8	88	4
^ Asked of a half sample
Gallup

Scientific discoveries may someday make it possible for parents to select genetic traits such as intelligence, height or artistic talent when planning to have a child. If you were having a child, and this were possible, would you -- [ROTATED: select the traits you wanted your child to have, (or) let the child be born with whatever traits he or she would naturally have]?

	Would select traits	Child born with natural traits	No opinion
	%	%	%
2003 Jan 23-25 ^	7	91	2
^ Asked of a half sample
Gallup

Thinking about the amount of homework your oldest child receives, overall, would you say that child receives -- [ROTATED: too much homework, the right amount or not enough homework]?

Based on K-12 parents

	Too much	Right amount	Not enough	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2001 Aug 16-19	16	57	23	4
Gallup

Now thinking for a moment about social pressures at the school your oldest child attends. How serious a problem are social pressures among students to -- [RANDOM ORDER] -- very serious, somewhat serious, not too serious or not serious at all?

Based on K-12 parents

	Very serious	Somewhat serious	Not too serious	Not serious at all	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%
Drink alcohol
2001 Aug 16-19	22	24	22	30	2
Wear specific type/brand of clothes
2001 Aug 16-19	24	27	23	22	4
Use drugs
2001 Aug 16-19	22	26	23	27	2
Achieve a specific body image
2001 Aug 16-19	25	29	25	20	1
Be popular
2001 Aug 16-19	26	39	22	11	2
Have sexual relations
2001 Aug 16-19	19	28	20	28	5
Smoke cigarettes
2001 Aug 16-19	16	25	25	33	1
Gallup

In your oldest child's school, would you say students pressure each other more -- [ROTATED: to perform well academically (or) not to perform well academically]?

Based on K-12 parents

	To perform well	Not to perform well	No opinion
	%	%	%
2001 Aug 16-19	69	21	10
Gallup

About how many hours per week would you say you, personally, spend driving your children to organized activities? [OPEN-ENDED]

Based on parents of children under age 18

	2001 Aug 3-5
	%
None	29
One hour	10
Two hours	13
Three hours	9
Four hours	9
Five hours	6
Six hours	3
Seven to 10 hours	12
Eleven to 15 hours	5
More than 15 hours	3
No opinion	1
Mean	4.3
Median	2
Gallup

Considering the needs of both parents and children, which of the following do you see as the ideal situation for a family in today's society -- [ROTATED: both parents work full time outside the home, one parent works full time outside the home, the other works part time, one parent works full time outside the home, the other works at home, (or) one parent stays at home solely to raise the children]?

	Both work full time	One full time, One part time	One full time, one work at home	One stays home to raise children	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%
	%	%	%	%	%
2001 Apr 20-22	13	24	17	41	5
1991 Jul 25-28	14	27	15	39	5
1989 Oct 1-4	7	42	15	33	3
Gallup

In your opinion, what is the single most important thing that could be done to prevent another incidence of school shootings by students, like the recent ones in [California/Colorado]?

	2001 Mar 26-28	1999 May 7-9
	%	%
Parent involvement/responsibility	31	32
More security at schools	14	16
Better gun control/laws/issues	11	12
Better education/students/parents	6	3
Control media violence/video games/Internet	5	4
Lift laws on disciplining children	4	6
Put prayer back in school/home	3	3
Raise morals/people's standards	3	3
Better communication between students/parents/teachers	3	4
Monitor/Watch students more closely	3	--
Stop bullies/bullying	2	--
More counselors/counseling/teachers	2	6
Stricter punishment on children/laws	2	2
Report threats/Take threats more seriously	1	--
Dress codes/uniforms	*	1
None	1	1
Other	2	4
No opinion	7	3
* Less than 0.5%
Gallup

How important do you think each of the following is as a cause of the school shootings that have been occurring -- extremely important, very important, somewhat important, not too important or not at all important? How about -- The home life students have today, including their relationship with their parents?

	Extremely important	Very important	Somewhat important	Not too important	Not at all important	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%
2001 Mar 26-28	57	35	4	2	1	1
Gallup

How important do you think each of the following is as a cause of the school shootings that have been occurring -- extremely important, very important, somewhat important, not too important or not at all important? How about -- Bullying and teasing of students at school?

	Extremely important	Very important	Somewhat important	Not too important	Not at all important	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%
2001 Mar 26-28	29	33	23	8	5	2
Gallup

How important do you think each of the following is as a cause of the school shootings that have been occurring -- extremely important, very important, somewhat important, not too important or not at all important? How about -- The portrayal of violence and use of guns in today's entertainment and music?

	Extremely important	Very important	Somewhat important	Not too important	Not at all important	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%
2001 Mar 26-28	38	30	17	7	6	2
Gallup

How important do you think each of the following is as a cause of the school shootings that have been occurring -- extremely important, very important, somewhat important, not too important or not at all important? How about -- The coverage given to school shootings by the news media?

	Extremely important	Very important	Somewhat important	Not too important	Not at all important	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%
2001 Mar 26-28	32	32	23	7	3	3
Gallup

How important do you think each of the following is as a cause of the school shootings that have been occurring -- extremely important, very important, somewhat important, not too important or not at all important? How about -- The availability and ease of obtaining guns by students?

	Extremely important	Very important	Somewhat important	Not too important	Not at all important	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%
2001 Mar 26-28	46	31	10	6	5	2
Gallup

How important do you think each of the following is as a cause of the school shootings that have been occurring -- extremely important, very important, somewhat important, not too important or not at all important? How about -- The way schools discipline their students?

	Extremely important	Very important	Somewhat important	Not too important	Not at all important	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%
2001 Mar 26-28	31	36	17	8	3	5
Gallup

How important do you think each of the following is as a cause of the school shootings that have been occurring -- extremely important, very important, somewhat important, not too important or not at all important? How about -- The size of high schools today in terms of the number of students who attend?

	Extremely important	Very important	Somewhat important	Not too important	Not at all important	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%
2001 Mar 26-28	20	29	26	15	6	4
Gallup

How important do you think each of the following is as a cause of the school shootings that have been occurring -- extremely important, very important, somewhat important, not too important or not at all important? How about -- The fact that families move around and the students don't have roots in one specific town?

	Extremely important	Very important	Somewhat important	Not too important	Not at all important	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%
2001 Mar 26-28	17	26	28	18	9	2
Gallup

Overall, do you feel the news media have acted responsibly or irresponsibly in covering the recent school shootings?

	Responsibly	Irresponsibly	No opinion
	%	%	%
2001 Mar 26-28	57	37	6
1999 Apr 26-27	67	29	4
Gallup

Using a scale of 1-10, where 1 is very easy, and 10 is very difficult, how easy or difficult would you say it is to raise children to be good people these days?

	1998 Jul 7-8
	%
01 Very easy	2
02	2
03	3
04	2
05	11
06	7
07	14
08	23
09	7
10 Very difficult	28
No opinion	1
Mean	7.5
Gallup

Compared to twenty years ago, do you think it is harder or not harder to raise kids to be good people today?

	Harder	Not harder	No opinion
	%	%	%
1998 Jul 7-8	89	10	1
Gallup

Compared to parents twenty years ago, do you think parents today are doing a better job of raising their children, a worse job or are they doing about the same?

	Better	Worse	Same	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
1998 Jul 7-8	4	67	28	1
Gallup

Which of the following statements comes closer to the way you feel about raising children today -- [ROTATED: even though there are a lot of bad influences these days, parents who do a good job can usually be assured that their children will turn out well (or) there are so many bad influences out there that even for parents who do a good job, there is a good chance their children will get into serious trouble]?

	Will turn out well	Good change will get into trouble	No opinion
	%	%	%
1998 Jul 7-8	44	51	5
Gallup

Thinking about children's exposure to popular culture, including things like television, movies, the internet and popular music -- do you think it is possible or nearly impossible for a parent to shield their child from exposure to popular culture?

	Possible	Nearly impossible	No opinion
	%	%	%
1998 Jul 7-8	26	73	1
Gallup

If money were no object, how many children per family would you consider to be the ideal number?

	Zero	One	Two	Three	Four	Five or more	No opinion	Mean
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
1997 ^	1	1	43	23	19	8	6	3.0
^ Asked of a half sample
Gallup

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Children

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