Women’s Work and Child Care

Abstract

Women’s labor force participation has increased dramatically since 1970, such that a majority of mothers of young children now work outside the home. Research to date has provided a broad outline of how women’s work and child care are linked to child outcomes and family functioning. Early concerns about the potential consequences of separating young children from their mothers have been shown to be unfounded; indeed, high-quality child care appears to provide substantial benefits for children and their parents. Yet the underlying processes by which child care affects children are not thoroughly understood, nor have our national policies been responsive to the changing lives of families. This chapter explores the connections among work, child care, and child and family well-being, presenting illustrative results from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Findings are discussed in terms of their policy implications and suggest an unfinished research agenda.