We have visited the same families every other year for ten years! We don't have all the results in yet, but below are some tidbits that show how much the children in our study have changed from the time they were 8 or 9 to the time they were 12 or 13. On our first visit, many kids listed swimming as thier favorite sports activity (57.4%), with bike riding (55.9%) and baseball (35.3%) falling in second and third place. By our third visit, baseball faded in popularity. Biking (29.4%) and swimming (36.8%) remained high on the list, but basketball became a new favorite (39.7%).

Hobbies changed quite a bit as well. Singing (38.3%), participating in scouting organizations (17.7%), and collecting Beanie Babies (14.7%) topped the interests of 8 and 9 year olds. By the time our study participants were 12 and 13, they had packed away the Beanie Babies, and were reading (36.7%) and playing video games (10.3%). Singing still made the list (8.8%).

Club participation decreased over the years (maybe because everyone was so busy reading!). When participants were 8-9 years old 35.3% of participated in a youth group, 23.5% in a choir, and 16.2% were a member of a scouting organization. When participants were 12-13 years old, 10.3% were a member of a soccer club or team, and 5.9% were on a basketball team.