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Child care

Childcare, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typically refers to the care provided by caregivers that are not the child's parents. Childcare is a broad topic that covers a wide spectrum of professionals, institutions, contexts, activities, and social and cultural conventions. Early childcare is an important and often overlooked component of child development.[US 1]

Care can be provided to children by a variety of individuals and groups. This caregiving role may also be taken on by the child's extended family. Another form of childcare is that of center-based childcare. In lieu of familial caregiving, these responsibilities may be given to paid caretakers, orphanages or foster homes to provide care, housing, and schooling.


Professional caregivers work within the context of a center-based care (including crèches, daycare, preschools and schools) or a home-based care (nannies or family daycare). The majority of child care institutions available require child care providers to have extensive training in first aid and be CPR certified. In addition, background checks, drug testing at all centers, and reference verifications are normally a requirement. Child care can consist of advanced learning environments that include early childhood education or elementary education. The objective of the program of daily activities at a child care facility should be to foster age appropriate learning and social development.[US 1] In many cases the appropriate child care provider is a teacher or person with educational background in child development, which requires a more focused training aside from the common core skills typical of a child caregiver.


As well as these licensed options, parents may also choose to find their own caregiver or arrange childcare exchanges/swaps with another family.[1]


Access to and quality of childcare have a variety of implications for children, parents and guardians, and families. Child care can have long-term impacts on educational attainment for children. Parents, particularly women and mothers, see increased labor force attachment when child care is more accessible and affordable. In particular, increased affordable child care opportunities have economic benefits for immigrant communities and communities of color.[2]

Overview[edit]

Childcare varies dramatically across cultures. While many global communities prefer children aged 7–10 for designated caregiving responsibilities, children no younger than 12 are preferred in the Western world where paid childcare is common.[3] For example, very young children in Zaire regularly use machetes safely and skillfully while American middle-class adults do not trust their young children with knives.[3] Child development is not just biological or psychological—it is also a cultural process and it is not universal.[3] In countries where children are given more responsibility the adults serve as "occasional supervisors" and children take pride in their responsibilities.[3]


Therefore, an important aspect of childcare is considering the cultural differences and accepted behaviors in differing households. Children should be able to retain their cultural tradition and norms, while also being exposed to other cultures.[US 1]

Childcare by country[edit]

Australia[edit]

Australia has a large childcare industry,[4] but in many locations (especially in inner-city suburbs of large cities and in rural areas) the availability is limited and the waiting periods can be up to several years.[5] The Australian Government's Child Care Subsidy[6] scheme provides assistance with child care costs, but this still leaves many families with a large out of pocket expense. The median weekly cost of center-based long day care in 2013 was approximately A$364[7] which puts it out of the reach of lower income earners.[8]


Regulation is governed by the Australian Children's Education & Care Quality Authority (ACECQA),[9] a federal government body, which acts as a central body for the state bodies.[10] As of 2021, ratios were 1:4 for infants, 1:5 for 2–3 years old (except for VIC – 1:4), 1:10 for preschoolers in NSW, TAS and WA, and 1:11 for preschoolers in ACT, NT, QLD, SA and VIC.[11]


All childcare workers must have, or be undertaking, the minimum Certificate III in Children's Services in order to work in a center (Recognition of Prior Learning is available to help qualify staff with many years experience, but no qualifications). (Common more advanced qualifications are 'Diploma of Children's Services' and an Early Childhood Education degree).


Rules differ between states regarding family day care in Australia. To start a Family Day Care business in Victoria, an educator should be either have a Certificate III in Children's Services or be actively working towards the same. Additionally, a current police check, current first aid training and insurance (specifically for family day care) are necessary for starting a family day care. The house should be safe for children. A group of 15 educators works under one Supervisor who must have a Diploma in Children's Services.


In Australia, Nannies are also a viable childcare option for many families, although they do not currently reap the benefits of the Government Child Care Subsidy. Nannies often offer many styles of services, including casual and permanent nannies, as well as au pairs and overnight nannies.

Types[edit]

In the child's home[edit]

At home, care is typically provided by nannies, au pairs, or friends and family.[56] The child is watched inside the home. Depending on the number of children in the home, the children utilizing in-home care could enjoy the greatest amount of interaction with their caregiver, in turn forming a close bond. There are no required licensing or background checks for in-home care, making parental vigilance essential in choosing an appropriate caregiver. Nanny and au pair services provide certified caregivers and the cost of in-home care is the highest of childcare options per child, though a household with many children may find this the most convenient and affordable option. Many nannies study towards childcare qualifications. This training is intended to teach a carer how to create a safe and stimulating environment for children to enjoy and thrive in. Typically, au pairs or nannies provide more than routine child care, often providing assistance with daily household activities which include running errands, shopping, doing laundry, fixing meals, and cleaning the house.


The most common way to find a nanny is online on dedicated websites specializing in child care services, or through a nanny agency. Nanny agencies may provide a more thorough check of an applicant's references and run a criminal background check on the candidate.[57] Depending on local prices, a nanny could be cheaper than putting multiple children in a daycare setting full-time. Proponents believe in-home care may provide stability for the child, due to the fact supervision takes place in an already familiar and comfortable setting for the child. Nannies may also provide care for sick children whereas nurseries typically do not. This enables working parents to continue working instead of leaving to pull a sick child out of day care, which may make in home care ideal for parents who work jobs that they cannot leave, such as nurses. Depending on local laws, some carers can be subject to visits from their local childcare regulatory bodies.

In the provider's home[edit]

Family child care providers care for children in the provider's own home. The children could be in a mixed age group with a low adult-to-child ratio. Care can also potentially be personalized and individual. The hours may be more flexible and the provider may offer evening and weekend care for parents who work shifts. The cost in a family child care could be significantly lower on average than that of a center.


Child care facilities in the US have the option of becoming accredited. This standard is set and regulated by an outside agency. In centers, National Association for the Education of Young Children institutes it.[58] For family child care providers, the National Association of Family Child Care Providers award the credentials.[59]


Licensed or unlicensed home daycare is also referred to as family child care, or in home care. It refers to the care provided to a group of children in the home of a caregiver. State laws differ regarding rules for licensed versus unlicensed care. In Canada, most home daycares are unlicensed, and this is completely lawful. Licensing home daycares in Canada can help greatly with oversight, but at the cost of a large portion of the daycare provider's pay. Family child cares are small in size and also have the benefits of flexible hours, lower costs, accessibility, and cultural compatibility. Home-based providers can give more individualized care. In addition, family care generally has a smaller ratio of adults to children in care, allowing for more interaction between child and provider than would be had at a commercial care center. The providers are able to communicate each day with parents on a personal level and share information about the development of the child. Providers care for multi-aged groups of children allowing children to remain with one caregiver for many years which helps children develop a sense of trust and security. Multi-aged settings allow children to learn from one another and allow siblings to stay together. Some family child care providers may offer parents more flexibility with hours of operation such as evening, weekend, overnight, and before and after school care.

Center based childcare[edit]

In a childcare center, teachers focus on the physical and mental developments of their students. In order to have a greater understanding of the student, teachers in centers must incorporate a relationship with their students that benefits their wants and needs while pushing them toward a higher set of values. This type of teaching with a caring relationship will improve a student's moral and incidental learning.[US 12]

Inequities in access to and provision of childcare[edit]

Based on the previous sections in this article, it is evident that various countries focus on childcare as a means of supporting their workforces, that childcare leads to beneficial health and developmental outcomes for children, and that childcare takes many forms for many different communities. Given the importance of these outcomes, an analysis of which communities are not able to receive adequate childcare can yield insight into various other issues about race, gender, and class.


There are links between the income, education, and importance of consistency and the well-being of the child, to the parents, and the development of their child. Higher educated parents place more importance on the education of their children than the parents who do not have a college degree or have not graduated from high school. Likewise, parents who have a higher income level are more willing to part with their money to purchase a private tutor or nanny to assist the parent in the education of their child. They also tend to stress the importance of being socially inept.[65] The first few years of a child's life are important to form a basis for good education, morality, self-discipline and social integration. Consistency of approach, skills and qualifications of caregivers have been shown in many studies to improve the chances of a child reaching his or her full potential. Child care in much of western society is currently in crisis: there are not enough daycare spots, the cost for most parents is beyond their means, and child care staff are grossly underpaid. Starting wages for Early Childcare Educators start at $11 or $12, causing a high turnover rate, and decreases the likelihood of potentially safe, effective, and loving child care providers from even entering the field. For preschool teachers the average salary is about $28,570.[77] According to a survey done by HiMama, 68% of for-profit child care organizations ranked 'Labor' as their top risk and 65% ranked 'Talent and Recruitment' as their top priority for 2017.[78]


Another consideration in the inequities in childcare is who is providing childcare disproportionately. Historically, the task has fallen onto Black and immigrant women—two groups who have not been able to advocate for themselves due to historical, structural, and social tensions.[79] The authors of the article "Suited for Service: Racialized Rationalizations for the Ideal Domestic Servant from the Nineteenth to Early Twentieth Century" argue that the racial legacy of domestic service in the United States has created a relationship of servitude between those who hire domestic caregivers and the caregivers themselves.

Business[edit]

The day care industry is a continuum from personal parental care to large, regulated institutions.


The vast majority of childcare is still performed by the parents, in-house nanny or through informal arrangements with relatives, neighbors or friends. For example, in Canada, among two parent families with at least one working parent, 62% of parents handle the childcare themselves, 32% have other in-home care (nannies, relatives, neighbours or friends) and only 6.5% use a formal day care center.[87]


However, for-profit day care corporations often exist where the market is sufficiently large or there are government subsidies. For instance, in North America, KinderCare Learning Centers, one of the largest of such companies, has approximately 1,600 centers located in 39 states and the District of Columbia.[88] Bright Horizons Family Solutions another of the largest has over 600 daycare centers.[89] Similarly the Australian government's childcare subsidy has allowed the creation of a large private-sector industry in that country.[90]


Another factor favoring large corporate daycares is the existence of childcare facilities in the workplace. Large corporations will not handle this employee benefit directly themselves and will seek out large corporate providers to manage their corporate daycares. Most smaller, for-profit daycares operate out of a single location.


In general, the geographic limitations and the diversity in type of daycare providers make child daycare a highly fragmented industry. The largest providers own only a very small share of the market. This leads to frustration for parents who are attempting to find quality child daycare, with 87% of them describing the traditional search for child daycare as "difficult and frustrating".

Access[edit]

The availability of child care, whether with other family members or professional care, affects the ability of parents to work. This includes both single parents and families where both parents need or want to earn money. Many governments in higher-income countries provide subsidies for child care programs for the benefit of low-income families or parents in general. In the United States, where few subsidies are provided, there is a political debate over whether universal child care services should be provided by the government. Related debates include those over universal preschool and paid family leave.

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Child care