ABSTRACT
One of the most signifi cant changes in American family life in recent decades is the increasing numbers of mothers in the workforce (Perry-Jenkins, Repetti, & Crouter, 2000). In 2006, 63% of mothers with children ages 6 and under were in the labor force (U.S. Department of Labor, 2007). Because of this, a majority of young children in the United States are cared for regularly by someone other than their parents (Dickinson & Sprague, 2001). The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics reports that as many as 80% of all children in families surveyed in 2005 were in some type of nonparental care before they entered fi rst grade (Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 2007).
