Child and Family Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Child and Family Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic provides quick access to data available on KidsData.org that describe life disruptions and emotional and behavioral consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The data help measure the pandemic’s impact on children and caregivers, builds understanding of how families are faring, and suggests where support might be most needed.

Access data on the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on critical areas of children’s health and well-being:

Data are available for California and seven regions within California. At the state level, findings are broken down by income level, race/ethnicity, and presence of a child with special health care needs in the household. Visit the topic summary page for more information and links to additional research.

Sign up for KidsData News to receive periodic highlights on child well-being from this questionnaire and other noteworthy data sources.


Caregivers Share Their Thoughts

Caregivers responding to the Family Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic questionnaire reflected on caring for their children during the pandemic. reflected on caring for their children during the pandemic.

“I feel like I have become more loving, considerate, and patient with my children. The need to stay home has helped us create structure. I thought I was going to get irritated by having my kids home with me all the time, but it’s really been the opposite.”

“I’ve had to let go of a lot of expectations and have really learned what is important.”

“The biggest issue is protecting my child from my own anxiety and worries. She’s young enough that her daily life isn’t too disrupted but old enough to know the grownups are upset.”


About the Data Source

The data come from a national questionnaire, Family Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic, designed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Prevent Child Abuse America (PCAA), and Tufts Medical Center’s Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences (HOPE). Experts at AAP, CDC, PCAA, and HOPE use questionnaire findings across a wide range of content areas to understand the pandemic’s impacts on families and to produce resources for medical practitioners, caregivers, and others. 

In California, a questionnaire oversample was funded by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health (LPFCH), the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) and California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH’s) Essentials for Childhood Initiative (EfC), and CDPH’s Office of Suicide Prevention (OSP). Findings from the oversample are used to inform policy makers, program leaders, advocates, and others about how family experiences vary across sub-state areas, and to what extent families with children with special health care needs (CSHCN) face greater challenges. 

California administration took place in four waves across 18 months: November 9 to December 11, 2020 (Wave 1), March 22 to April 12, 2021 (Wave 2), July 8 to July 27, 2021 (Wave 3), and June 3 to June 29, 2022 (Wave 4). 

To learn more about the development of the questionnaire and to access national findings, visit AAP’s Family Snapshots: Life During the Pandemic


Questionnaire Sample

Respondent demographics show some variation across waves but are generally stable. In each wave, data are weighted to reflect caregivers of children under age 18 in California.


Questionnaire SampleWave 1Wave 2Wave 3Wave 4
Respondents1,5261,5201,6021,575
Female54% 53% 53%53%
Married or in Domestic Partnership69%72%73%61%
One or More Children with Special Health Care Needs 29%35%34%31%
Race/Ethnicity*       
Hispanic/Latino50%49%49%49%
White28%28%29%27%
Asian9%12%10%11%
African American/Black5%5%5%5%
Education Level        
Did Not Graduate High School12%13%12%11%
High School Diploma30%29%29%32%
Some College29%29%29%29%
At Least 4-Year Degree 30%30%30%28%
Annual Household Income**        
Less than $30,00028%25%22%21%
$30,000-$59,99922%24%25%27%
$60,000-$99,99919%20%20%23%
$100,000 or Higher25%25%29%25%

*Not all racial/ethnic groups are shown.

**Income was not reported by all respondents.


Related Webinars

Nov. 15, 2022: “How Families of Children With Special Health Care Needs Are Coping in the ‘New Normal’” [slides]. KidsData’s Beth Jarosz and family advocate Lilian Ansari provide an overview of the fourth wave of data from the Family Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic Questionnaire, share insights on the pandemic’s impact on families of children with special health care needs, and suggest opportunities for positive change. The webinar was sponsored by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health.



Nov. 18, 2021:Child Well-Being During the Pandemic” [slides]. Presenters Lori Turk-Bicakci from KidsData and Tracy Mendez from the California School-Based Health Alliance provide an overview of three waves of data from the Family Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic Questionnaire and discuss how school-based health centers can help address concerns. The webinar was sponsored by the California Department of Public Health, Injury and Violence Prevention Branch and the California Department of Social Services, Office of Child Abuse Prevention’s Essentials for Childhood Initiative.



Apr. 29, 2021:Family Experiences During COVID-19 Pandemic Data” [slides]. Drs. Robert Sege from the HOPE Project at Tufts Medical Center and Lori Turk-Bicakci from KidsData provide an overview of the questionnaire and cover national and California-level findings. The webinar was sponsored by the California Department of Public Health, Injury and Violence Prevention Branch and the California Department of Social Services, Office of Child Abuse Prevention’s Essentials for Childhood Initiative.




Data on Family Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Health Care Access and Use

Education and Social Activities

Economic Security

Supportive Services

Emotional and Behavioral Health

Child and Caregiver Safety

Adverse Childhood Experiences

Positive Childhood Experiences

Caring for Children With Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN)

Posted by kidsdata.org

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 9th, 2021 at 9:00 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Post a comment/question: