| Day care or child care is care of a child during the | | | | institutions. The vast majority of childcare is still |
| day by a person other than the child's parents or | | | | performed by the parents, in house nanny or |
| legal guardians, typically someone outside the | | | | through informal arrangements with relatives, |
| child's immediate family. The service is known as | | | | neighbors or friends. For example, in Canada, |
| child care in the United Kingdom and Australia and | | | | among two parent families with at least one |
| day care in North America. Child care or day care | | | | working parent, 62% of parents handle the |
| is provided in nurseries or crèches or by | | | | childcare themselves, 32% have other in-home |
| child minders caring for children in their own | | | | care (nannies, relatives, neighbors or friends) and |
| homes. | | | | only 6.5% use a formal day care center. |
| Babysitting is the occasional temporary care of a | | | | Home day cares are operated by a single |
| child during the absence of his or her parents. | | | | individual out of their home. This is often a |
| Child care or day care is ongoing care during | | | | stay-at-home parent who seeks supplemental |
| specific periods, such as the parents' time at | | | | income while caring for their own child. Local |
| work. Child care can also take on a more formal | | | | legislation may regulate the number and ages of |
| structure, with education, child development, | | | | children allowed before the home is considered an |
| discipline and even preschool falling into the fold of | | | | official day care centre and subject to more |
| services. | | | | stringent safety regulations. Some home day |
| Some child minders care for children from several | | | | cares operate illegally with respect to tax |
| families at the same time, either in their own | | | | legislation where the care provider does not |
| home or in a specialized child care facility. Some | | | | report fees as income and the parent does not |
| employers provide nursery provision for their | | | | receive a receipt to qualify for childcare tax |
| employees at or near the place of employment. | | | | deductions. As home day cares do not pay rent, |
| Day care appeared in France about 1840, and the | | | | they are typically less expensive than day care |
| Société des Crèches was | | | | centers. Home day care providers may still be |
| recognized by the French government in 1869. | | | | certified like more organized daycares. |
| Originating in Europe in the late 18th and early | | | | Another factor favoring large corporate day |
| 19th century, day cares were established in the | | | | cares is the existence of childcare facilities in the |
| United States by private charities in the 1850s, | | | | workplace. Large corporations will not handle this |
| the first being the New York Day Nursery in | | | | employee benefits directly themselves and will |
| 1854. | | | | seek out large corporate providers to manage |
| From individual caretakers to regulated institutions | | | | their corporate daycares. Smaller, for-profit day |
| the day care industry is a continuum from | | | | cares operate out of a single location. |
| personal parental care to large, regulated | | | | |