Variable AG2 : Age of child

File: ch

Children with a completed interview (UF9=1)

Mother/Caretaker of Child

Categories

Value	Category	Cases
0		557	16.5%
1		699	20.7%
2		711	21.1%
3		671	19.9%
4		736	21.8%
Sysmiss		24

How old is (name)? Probe: How old was (name) at his / her last birthday?

Record age in completed years. Record '0' if less than 1 year. Compare and correct AG1 and/or AG2 if inconsistent.

After having obtained the child's date of birth, ask the child's age in completed years, and record in the space provided. Remember, ages must refer to the last birthday. Probe if necessary by asking “How old was (name) at his/her last birthday?”

If the mother/primary caretaker does not know the current age of the child, try asking “How many years ago was (name) born?” You may help the respondent by relating the child's age to that of other children or to some important event or to the season of birth, by asking, for example, “How many wet seasons ago was (name) born?”

Record age in completed years. Record '0' if the child is lees than 1 year old.

Survey Coordinators: During training, provide interviewers the dates of important events that they can use as reference points in the interviews. Dates of recent natural disasters, major political incidents and religious events can be very useful to probe for dates of birth, ages, durations and so forth. 

Ask AG1 and AG2 independently. Then, check for consistency between the date of birth and completed age.

You have to be meticulous in checking for the consistency between the date of birth and age. You also have to be fairly quick in doing so. A good interviewer will perform the check without causing a lull in the conversation.

Checking for consistency between date of birth (AG1) and completed age (AG2). After having obtained both date of birth and age, check for the consistency between the two. The child's age plus her year of birth must equal the year in which the child had his/her last birthday. 

Assuming that you were able to obtain a month and year of birth, you should check the consistency by following these steps:

- If the month of birth is before the month of interview (the child had his/her birthday this year), then her/his age plus her/his year of birth should equal the year of interview.

Example: A child who was born in October 2008, in a survey conducted in November 2010, should be age 2 (2008 + 2 = 2010).

- If the month of birth is after the month of interview (the child has not yet had his/her birthday this year), then her/his age plus year of birth should equal the previous year.

Example: A child who was born in December 2008, in a survey conducted in October 2010, should be age 1 (2008 + 1 = 2009).

- If the month of birth is the same as the month of interview, and the day of birth is not known, then a sum of either the current or the previous year is correct.

Example: A child born in November 2007, in a survey conducted in November 2010, could be age 3 or age 2. Probe further to see if the date of birth is correct and whether the child has completed age 2 or 3.

- If the month of birth is the same as the month of interview, and the day of birth is known, the sum of age and year of birth should equal the year of interview if the day of birth is before the day of interview, and the sum of age and year of birth should equal the previous year if the day of birth is after the day of interview.

Example: A child born on 8 February 2006, in an interview conducted on 15 February 2010, should be age four. A child born on 28 February 2006, in an interview conducted on 3 February 2010, should be age three, since this child will complete 4 full years on 28 February 2010.

If you find that the date of birth and age are inconsistent, either the date of birth or the age, or both, are incorrect, and need to be corrected. Probe, using documents that may be available, dates of well-known events and ages of other children, of the respondent herself/himself, etc.

If after having asked AG1 and AG2, you determine that the child is already 5 years old or more, you must stop the interview because he/she is not eligible anymore.  Thank the mother/caretaker for her/his cooperation if she/he does not have other under 5 children. Go back to the Household Listing Form to correct the child age and change as well the number of under 5 children recorded in HH14.