ABSTRACT
During the past decade or so in Canada, the number of places in organized child daycare services has increased considerably, both in absolute numbers and relative to the number of mothers in the labour force. Nevertheless, access to these services remains very restricted and, for most parents, expensive. Most children are cared for ‘informally’ — by unlicensed caregivers; by siblings; by friends; by relatives; by the other parent (the two parents frequently working different shifts in order to arrange childcare); or by themselves.
