ABSTRACT
The provision of child-care facilities is extremely controversial. It is an area in which the two-sided attitudes towards women and children can become bitter. The moral indignation towards mothers working outside the home has died down, but the undertone of condemnation still remains. While even more mothers work outside the home without good child-care facilities, the prevailing attitude is still one of hesitation and restraint. In the discussion on child-care facilities, the child's 'best interests' are very often placed opposite the mother's, as though the interests of children are quite irreconcilable with the interests of their mothers. The reconsideration of the philosophies on children and motherhood that the author had in mind corresponded to a broader tendency towards a more critical reflection on the subject within developmental psychology. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
