The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children
Annual statistical report 2011

Foreword

I am pleased to introduce the second of the Annual Statistical Report series for Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). This report builds on the 2010 report to further explore the multiple facets of children's lives that influence their wellbeing. In doing so, the report provides a foundation for further research that can inform government policies and programs to support the wellbeing of children and their families.

This report uses longitudinal data from children aged 0-10 years to investigate changes in children's experiences and development over time. This provides insight into experiences of prolonged disadvantage and critical points of transition in children's lives. Aspects of children's family environments and experiences are also examined in parts of the report, including their parents' mental health, their fathers' involvement in their personal care activities, characteristics of their families' housing arrangements, and experiences of families with a child with disability. Other sections of the report investigate aspects of children's development, including numeracy skills, body mass index, exposure to television and other media, and access to preschool in the year before children start school. Some chapters also examine these variations in children's development and experiences by different socio-demographic characteristics.

In covering such a range of topics, this report will provide policy-makers, researchers, practitioners and others with a valuable introduction to the wealth of information collected by the study.

Alan Hayes

Director, Australian Institute of Family Studies

Acknowledgements

The Australian Institute of Family Studies thanks the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) for funding this report, and the FaHCSIA LSAC Team for their contributions.

We are also grateful to the following reviewers for their comments on earlier versions of specific chapters:

• Rebecca Giallo, Parenting Research Centre;
• Lyn Craig, Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales;
• Matthew Gray, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University;
• Margaret Cupitt, Australian Communications and Media Authority;
• Alison Elliott, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney;
• Matthew Taylor, National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling, University of Canberra;
• Sven Silburn, Centre for Child Development and Education, Menzies School of Health Research;
• Sue Thomson, Australian Council for Educational Research;
• Michael Sawyer, Children, Youth and Women's Health Service, University of Adelaide; and
• Mary Hawkins, Royal Children's Hospital, University of Melbourne.

We would also like to thank our colleagues in the LSAC team at AIFS:

• Daryl Higgins, Project Executive Director
• Ben Edwards, Executive Manager Longitudinal Studies
• Jacqui Harvey, Design Manager
• Galina Daraganova, Research Fellow/Analyst
• Mark Sipthorp, Data Manager
• Jennifer Renda, Senior Research Officer
• Brigit Maguire, Senior Research Officer
• Monica Dickson, Project Officer

For more information about the study, see the LSAC website <www.aifs.gov.au/growingup>.

This report uses unit record data from Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. The study is conducted in a partnership between FaHCSIA, the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The findings and views reported here are those of the individual authors and should not be attributed to FaHCSIA, AIFS or the ABS.

Full contents