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One-Third of Boys Spend Two or More Hours Home Alone After-School – Three Times More than Girls, According to Junior Achievement/Harris Interactive Poll

Junior Achievement Responds by Participating in “Lights On Afterschool!”

Colorado Springs, Colo.  – One-third of boys (33 percent) between the ages of 8 and 14 spend two or more hours home alone after school, three times more than girls (11 percent), according to a recent Junior Achievement / Harris Interactive Poll of 668 youths between the ages of 8 and 14. Only about one-in-ten boys (10 percent) and one-in-seven (14 percent) girls participate in organized after-school activities. 

“According to the National Center for Juvenile Justice, children are at greater risk of becoming involved in crime and substance abuse when left alone after school, and statistics show boys are more inclined to get into these activities when not supervised,” said Dr. Darrell Luzzo, senior vice president of Junior Achievement, Inc. “It’s essential that young people have access to the kinds of supervised and organized activities JA offers on character development and the economics of life.”

While most young people currently do not participate in organized after-school activities, the poll shows that 79 percent of boys and 84 percent of girls are interested in such activities. The data shows a clear need for afterschool activities, a motivating factor behind the fourth national Lights On Afterschool! event on October 9, 2003, when more than 5,000 rallies will be held nationwide to support afterschool programs. The event is a project of the Afterschool Alliance. The JCPenney Afterschool Fund is National Presenting Sponsor.