ABSTRACT
The debate about how. where and by whom young children should be looked after is one which has occupied much social policy and media attention in recent years. Mothers undertake most of the care of young children. Internationally, out-of-home daycare provision ranges widely, from 2% of under three's in Britain to 48'Yo in Denmark (Meltzer. 1994). These different levels of provision are not simply a response to different levels of demand for day-care, hut rencct cultural and economic interests concerning the welfare of children. the need to pronlote mothers' participation in paid work and the
importance of socialising children into society's values (Kamerman, 1993). In Europe and North America there is greater consensus about the value of day-care for children over three than there is for children under 3 years. As regards the latter group, ideas about the necessity of psychological attachment to. and care by, mothers continue to hold considerable sway in some social contexts (Bowlby,
1951; Ainsworth and Wittig, 1969; Belsky and Rovine, 1988: Sroufe eta/., 1990).
