Nearly 40 percent of the Dutch population feels that financing child care is primarily a task for the parents

Child care costs rose to 3.9 billion euro in 2011. Nearly 40 percent of the Dutch population feels that financing child care is primarily a task of the parents themselves.

Higher child care contribution by parents

In 2007 spending on child care stood at 2.3 billion euro. In 2011 this was up to 3.9 billion euro. The Dutch government and employers financed most of this (73 percent in 2011), but the contribution by parents is increasing. In 2007 they paid 19 percent whereas by 2011 this had increased to 27 percent.

In 2012 nearly 40 percent of the adults felt that financing child care is primarily a task of the parents themselves, when asked to give their opinion about financing child care. About 18 percent sees this as primarily a government task, 11 percent as the task of the employers and 32 percent feels that the costs should be shared between parents, government and employers.

Preferences for financing child care, 2012

Users of child care do not want to pay

Parents with young children are less likely to feel that parents should primarily pay for child care than parents without young children. This is mainly true for parents who take their children to child care facilities. Only ten percent of them feel that parents should primarily pay for child care themselves. Only a quarter of the parents who do not use child care feel that way.

Rianne Kloosterman, Bart Huynen and Hans Schmeets