|
TABLE 2.
Children under 15 years at home, by age and
family type (1966 and 1971)
|
|
Total number |
Total number |
Total
number of children |
| |
of children |
of children |
in
one-parent families |
|
in all types |
in two-parent
|
|
|
Age of children
|
of families
|
families
|
Male-headed
|
Female-headed,
|
| 1966 |
|
|
|
|
| Pre-school
children |
2,622,477 |
2,528,005 |
14,086 |
80,386 |
| under 6
years |
100% |
96.4% |
0.5% |
3.1% |
| |
|
|
|
|
| School-age
children |
3,862,597 |
3,624,814 |
42,727 |
195,056 |
| 6
- 14 years |
100% |
93.8% |
1.1% |
5.1% |
| |
|
|
|
|
| 1971 |
|
|
|
|
|
Pre-school children |
2,196,780 |
2,051,205 |
35,035 |
110,540 |
|
under 6 years |
100% |
93.4% |
1.6% |
5.0% |
| |
|
|
|
|
| School-age
children |
4,087,275 |
3,717,565 |
81,985 |
287,725 |
| 6 -
14 years |
100% |
91.0% |
2.0% |
7.0% |
| |
|
|
|
|
Rate of
change
(1966 to 1971) |
|
|
|
|
| Pre-school
children |
-16% |
-19% |
+149% |
+38% |
| School-age
children |
+6% |
+3% |
+92% |
+48% |
| Sources: |
Statistics Canada, Family characteristics by marital
status. age, and sex of head, 1966 Census of Canada, Catalogue 93-612,
(Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Census Information Centre, 1969). |
| |
|
| |
Statistics Canada, Family characteristics by marital
status. age, and sex of head, 1971 Census of Canada, Catalogue 93-718,
(Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Census Information Centre, 1975). |
Comment:
Table 2 indicates that from 1966 to 1971 the numbers of
pre-school children in Canada decreased in total, while the numbers of
school-age children increased. This decrease in pre-school children also occurs
in two-parent families but not in one-parent families. In both male-headed and
female- headed one-parent families, the numbers of both pre-school and
school-age children increased by a large margin. It seems apparent that the
number of children who do not have a parent at home as a full-time care-giver
is increasing at a phenomenal rate. |