The general state of a child’s health as perceived by their parents is a useful measure of the child’s overall health and ability to function. Parents were asked to rate their child’s health status as excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor. Overall, the parents of 84.1 percent of children reported that their children’s health was excellent or very good. This proportion does not vary substantially by the sex of the child; the parents of 83.5 percent of boys rated their children’s health as excellent or very good, as did the parents of 84.7 percent of girls.

Younger children are more likely to be reported to be in excellent or very good health than are school-aged children or adolescents. Of children aged 5 and under, 86 percent were reported to be in excellent or very good health, compared to 83.8 percent of children aged 6-11 and 82.6 percent of children aged 12-17.

Children in low-income families are also much more likely to have poorer reported health status than children with higher levels of income. Two-thirds of children with family incomes below the Federal poverty level ($18,400 for a family of four in 2003) were reported to be in excellent or very good health, compared to 80.9 percent of children with family incomes between 100 and 199 percent of the Federal poverty level. Of children with family incomes between 200 and 399 percent of the Federal poverty level (FPL), 90.2 percent are in excellent or very good health, as are 93.8 percent of children with family incomes of 400 percent of FPL or more.

A child whose mother is herself in good health appears to be more likely to be reported to be in excellent or very good health. Of children whose mothers were reported to be in excellent or very good mental, emotional, and physical health, 93.3 percent were themselves reported to be in excellent or very good health; of the children of mothers whose health was good, fair, or poor, 71.8 percent were themselves in excellent or very good health.