The term day care is the American name for childcare. Day care also refers to care of the child by someone other than the parents or someone from the child's immediate family. Children, till the age of three or before they begin to go to school, require supervision and are dependent on adults for their daily needs.

People in the United Kingdom and Australia y use the term childcare, while the Americans prefer to use term Daycare for childcare. Childcare or day care is generally provided in cr?ches or nurseries. Parents typically drop their kids in the care of cr?ches and nurseries before they leave for work. Generally, individuals run cr?ches in their homes where they take care of the children. There are a few setups that care for many children from different families simultaneously. They do this either in their own homes or in a separate childcare facility.

In recent times, childcare has moved on to a more formal structure that includes education, child development, discipline and even preschooling. Certain employers provide flexibility to their employees by making provisions for day care facilities either within the office premises or near the place of employment.

Growing Industry

Day care industry is so much in demand, thanks to the growing number of two-income households that many people are starting day care centers and making huge profits as well. It is good news for the parents who get ample choice to pick the day care center that meets all their requirements.

The concept of day care centers has benefited both the employers and the employees. While the real mothers can pursue their careers without having to compromise on the good care of the child, the day care professional can earn a good salary and even find job satisfaction by being in the company of children. No wonder, studies show that the child care worker is the fifth most female-dominated profession in the United States.

There are essentially two types of day care centers ? for-profit day care centers run for commercial purposes and non-profit day care centers that are largely sponsored by the Government. The non-profit day care centers enjoy numerous benefits such as preferential rent as they are operated with a social interest.

All said and done, the home day care centers are the most popular. They are usually run by a single individual, or a small family and such places are run out of the homes of the owners. They are ideally suited to stay-at-home parents who can take care of other children along with their own, and make a decent income out of it too.

Day care and Child Development

Many families are fraught with uncertainty about leaving their children in day care centers. Parents tend to feel guilty that they are doing enough for their child. However, it is often seen that good day care provides different experiences than regular parental care does, thereby developing the child into a multi-faceted personality. In a day care, as the child interacts with other children from different families, they learn to cope with their peers, sharing and build good rapport within a group. In fact, many parents have fond memories of their time spent in day care centers and the various learning methods and experiences they enjoyed.

Good day care is not opposed to good parenting but can complement it to develop the child into a well-rounded individual.