Childcare

The concept of care is developing over time. More specifically, the word “childcare” is most frequently used to describe the role of adults who take responsibility for the care of young children from birth to eight years. Traditionally, childcare has been seen as the responsibility of parents, with intervention only occurring when a child is deemed to be at risk of, or vulnerable to, abuse and/or neglect; although there are notable exceptions to this such as the Scandinavian countries. Within this context, it is used when discussing more familial childcare arrangements, provided by family members, which takes place within a home environment. More recently, it tends to refer to childcare undertaken by adults working within registered/regulated childcare settings such as childminders, nurseries, kindergartens/preschools, and children's centers as a result of the increasing participation of both parents in the labor market.