Abstract
This study examined the patterns and characteristics of non-parental child care arrangements for Chinese very young children before they enter preschool and the extent to which families’ utilization of non-parental child care influenced parenting stress. A total of 3,842 Chinese parents of infants and toddlers were selected from 10 provinces to participate in this study. The results indicated that (1) Chinese families relied heavily on grandparents to care for their children; (2) a set of family demographics predicted the utilization of non-parental child care arrangements, including parents’ educational level, household income, labor force participation, and maternal age; (3) there existed a clear parental preference for publicly funded, affordable, and high-quality child care services; and (4) families’ use of non-parental child care was generally not linked to parenting stress. These findings shed light on the development of the infant-toddler non-parental child care system in the Chinese sociocultural context.
Highlights
The first few years of life are one of the most critical time periods, laying the foundation for later development and learning
We developed four multiple choice questions about parents’ preferences for the characteristics of nurseries, including the type, location, cost, and distance between home and institution (e.g., “What is your preferred type of nursery?”)
Over the past few decades, participation in non-parental child care or early childhood programs has become commonplace for many Chinese children
Summary
The first few years of life are one of the most critical time periods, laying the foundation for later development and learning. With the increasing number of mothers of young children participating in the labor force market, non-parental child care has become a common early experience for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers across many countries (UNICEF, 2008). The high utilization of non-parental child care at early ages has changed the daily life experiences of very young children, which introduced more relationships with adults and group activities with peers (Shonkoff and Phillips, 2000). The country has been facing shortages of infant-toddler child care services, which is one of the most significant barriers to the effective implementation of China’s two-child and three-child policy (Tian et al, 2020; Hong, 2021). The Chinese government has put great efforts into developing child care services for children under age 3 and takes it as an important supporting measure for the three-child policy.
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