Child care

Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typically refers to the care provided by caregivers who 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 essential and often overlooked component of child development.

A variety of people and organizations can care for children. The child's extended family may also take on this caregiving role. Another form of childcare is 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 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. 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.

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.

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. 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. Child development is not just biological or psychological—it is also a cultural process and it is not universal. In countries where children are given more responsibility the adults serve as "occasional supervisors", and children take pride in their responsibilities.

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.

At home, care is typically provided by nannies, au pairs, or friends and family. 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.