Childcare often provided by family and friends

Forty percent of households with children aged 12 years or younger in the Netherlands made use of some form of child care in 2005. This is a total of just over 550 thousand households. Most of them opt for care by relatives of friends. Formal child care in a nursery, day care centre, by registered childminders and after school care are less popular forms.

Family and friends often asked to help

Six out of ten – nearly 850 thousand – households with young children do not make use of childcare. In most of these households the mother takes take of the children while the father is at work. Two out of ten households called on family and friends to take care of their children. Formal child care was the main form of child care for 14 percent of households. Only 5 percent made use of a babysitter at home.

Main form of child care for households with children aged 12 or younger, 2005

Child care mainly for young children

Households with young children relatively often made use of some form of child care. More than half of households with children under the age of 4 years have organised some form of care. In households where the youngest child is 4 years or older, this is 40 percent. Formal child care in particular is used less for school-age children. In households with a youngest child aged 3 years nearly a quarter have formal child care; for those with a youngest child aged 4 years this is only 10 percent.

Main form of child care for households by age of youngest child, 2005

Formal childcare for two days a week

Overall, one in five Dutch households make use of some form of childcare. Six percent of households use formal child care in addition to another form of care.
Most households use formal child care for two days a week. Only 10 percent use formal childcare for our or more days a week. Four out of the households use formal child care for less than 12 hours a week. More than a quarter for 12-19 hours a week. It is uncommon for parents to make use of formal childcare for more than 28 hours a week.

Days and hours of formal childcare per week, 2005

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