abstract: 'Childcare has become a much-debated issue in all developed countries.

  Who should care for children, how, how much and for how long are the

  questions at the centre of value conflicts that shape not only policies

  and struggles around policies, but also individual and family choices.

  This article contributes to the debate in two ways. First, it presents

  an up-to-date overview of the different childcare packages offered by

  the 27 EU countries, indicating how they represent quite different

  understandings of proper care, as well as of proper behaviour by mothers

  and fathers. Second, it attempts to unravel the different dimensions

  implicated in the debate, going beyond the simplification of the

  mother''s care vs non-family care dichotomy. It concludes that an

  integrated research agenda, focusing both on the outcomes for labour

  markets and for children''s well-being, is necessary in order to develop

  policies that address the complex issues of choice, rights and social

  inequality involved in child-caring patterns.'
affiliation: 'Saraceno, C (Corresponding Author), Wissensch Zentrum Berlin Sozialforsch
  WZB, Reichpietschufer 50, D-10785 Berlin, Germany.

  Wissensch Zentrum Berlin Sozialforsch WZB, D-10785 Berlin, Germany.'
author: Saraceno, Chiara
author-email: saraceno@wzb.eu
author_list:
- family: Saraceno
  given: Chiara
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1177/0011392110385971
eissn: 1461-7064
files: []
issn: 0011-3921
journal: CURRENT SOCIOLOGY
keywords: childcare; childcare policies; gender roles; working mothers
keywords-plus: 'SOCIAL-POLICIES; WESTERN-EUROPE; GENDER; WORK; RECONCILIATION;

  OPPORTUNITIES; PREFERENCES; EMPLOYMENT; MOTHERS; TIME'
language: English
month: JAN
number: '1'
number-of-cited-references: '59'
pages: 78-96
papis_id: 3398551d774b41f7a91b2c57dfb68134
ref: Saraceno2011childcareneeds
times-cited: '78'
title: 'Childcare needs and childcare policies: A multidimensional issue'
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000287067900006
usage-count-last-180-days: '2'
usage-count-since-2013: '42'
volume: '59'
web-of-science-categories: Sociology
year: '2011'