MICHELLE BASCH, CO-HOST: On the line now tonight with us is David Gray, Director of the Workforce and Family Program at the New America Foundation here in D.C. Now David let’s begin broadly and then get more specific. You’re looking at the well being of kids in the US, and that of kids in Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. In general terms, what have you learned about them?

DAVID GRAY, NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION: Well our comparison shows that we have a very mixed picture. America is doing well in terms of the percentage of parents who are working and children who have lower suicide rates, and we are generally doing a better job of reducing teen birth rates as well as the use of cigarette use and alcohol. But we have real trouble in terms of the poverty rate and the gap between the rich and poor. In terms of overall health, as measured in infant mortality and in particularly looking at overweight children, the epidemic there as shown in all of our studies has been a real problem. And then in terms of testing and education, America’s math and reading scores are not what they should be when compared to other countries.

DIMITRI SOTIS, CO-HOST: You had talked about childhood obesity, or at least touched upon it. Is poverty the root of that? Is that the real problem here? Or do even affluent families have trouble with overweight kids?

GRAY: I think that it goes much broader. There is a disparity that does link somewhat to economic background, but there really is a broader story going on here. Where people of a variety of backgrounds and a variety of areas of the country are showing that the eating habits and exercise habits aren’t what they should be and even behavioral habits are not what they should be. In other words, there is a correlation that we show that kids are being more safe, in other words lower teen pregnancy, reduced violence and lower alcohol consumption because they may be spending more time indoors and less time getting in trouble outdoors. But because they’re spending less time outdoors they tend to play more video games and consume more soda and as a result become overweight.

BASCH: You are also looking at suicide and violent crime rates. What are those indicators of?

GRAY: Emotional well-being is where we look in terms of suicide rates. And in general, the United States in terms of its teenagers is in the middle of the pack. That’s one of the indicators we look at in terms of being better than some, but worse than others, it’s a middle indicator for us. In terms of safety, we generally are doing pretty well. It’s one of those that goes into that story I was saying a minute ago, our children are generally safer, maybe doing less stuff outside, but because they are indoors they are more likely to be overweight.

SOTIS: Now if we were conducting this interview in the UK or New Zealand, would we also have a mixed-picture? Are other countries doing everything better than we are? Or do other countries also have their low points?

GRAY: There is no country that across the board is doing better than the US. There are strengths and weaknesses in all the countries, and they all point to success that different countries are having in terms of how communities and families are looking at their children, and in terms of how policymakers are either succeeding or failing their children. We will be looking at this in some detail next Tuesday at 10:30 at the New America Foundation in Washington, DC, and we have got some experts there who have some strong background and have spent some time in those countries that we have mentioned who have gotten a strong perspective on how those countries are faring and what they might say if they were asked the question that you asked me.

SOTIS: President Bush is trying to extend his No Child Left Behind Act, is there any evidence that that has done good for kids in recent years?

GRAY: You know it is interesting in the education area, the goal of trying to get more students to complete high school has been somewhat successful, it is a little early to tell in terms of the effect of No Child Left Behind, in terms of our statistics. We have done a better job as a country in terms of having students complete their high school education than many of the other countries but the real testing that No Child Left Behind is focused on, which is the outcomes and the success in tests, we have not been as successful, but its early. And so, as an immediate indicator, it would be hard to tell, but there is certainly little evidence that the scores have gone up from our study as a result from recent changes, but I think it’s a little early to see the full effect of No Child Left Behind in our work compared to the other countries.

BASCH: This weekend, in every home in Washington, what could parents do to improve something slightly?

GRAY: I think the biggest thing that they could do is to spend time with their children, reading to them and working on homework, and spending time with them outdoors. I think that for parents, there are some clear things we think for policymakers as well, and policymakers need to get engaged. I think that parents need to push their policymakers to make children a high priority, and they themselves need to spend more time with their children to help them exercise and help them learn.

Please visit the WTOP Radio website.