Day Care

Day care refers to a diverse range of services that provide nonmaternal care for mostly preschool-aged children. Most commonly, day care provides custodial care for children whose parents work or are unable to care for them. However, day care is also increasingly understood as a site of early childhood education. While centre-based care is the dominant mode of day care provision, day care can be provided in other locations such as private homes. This entry addresses a range of topics including the history of day care, day care’s connection to education, and research on day care.