Choices in Child Care The Distribution of Child Care Among Mothers, Fathers and Non-Parental Care Providers

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Childcare patterns of preschool children have changed recently. In the past, mothers were supposed to take care of the children full-time and fathers were the wage earners. Non-parental care was hardly used. Nowadays, a growing number of women do not stop working after the birth of a child. The use of non-parental care has increased and the role of the father is becoming part of the child care discussion. As a result of these changes, child care patterns are much more varied than they used to be. This book discusses child care choices of parents with preschool children. The focus is on child care decisions tha t are related to the labor force participation of the parents. Contrary to much previous research, fathers are considered as a child care alternative, next to mothers, and non-parental care givers. The effects of several circumstances, such as the parents' income, the availability and quality of non-parental care and the non-parental care providers are studied on the basis of a survey of two-parent families with preschool children.