Child Care Services

Child care is an act or skill of taking care of children, generally from newborn to age thirteen. In child care, children are looked after by a day-care centre, babysitter, or other providers. Most of the child care institutions that are available require child care providers who have extensive training in first aid and are CPR certified. As parents work longer hours, they rely more on care services.

Types of child care services are nanny, babysitter, mother’s help, child care centre or long day care, family day care, preschool or kinder garden, out of school hours care i.e. OOSH, occasional care services and in-home care.  

Nannies are employed by the family on either a live-in or live-out basis to take care of all the tasks related to the care of children. Their duties are usually restricted to child care and the domestic tasks related to child care. A babysitter is a service centre that gives managerial, custodial care of children on irregular full time or part time basis. Mother's help are employees who have little or no previous experience of caring for children. A mother's help will help the parents with childcare and housekeeping duties. The duties of a mother’s help should be carried out under the supervision of the parent. In child care centre or long day care, they provide all-day or part-time care for working families and offer developmental programs within their care programs for children. A family day care is an association of qualified educators who provide care and developmental activities in their own homes for other people's children. In Pre-school or a kinder garden, educational programs are planned for children in the years before a child commences school. Here, the children are usually aged between 3 and 5 years of age.

In day care industry, infants and children are given day care services. Day care service centres usually care for preschool children, older children when they are not in school for example summer holidays or after school hours. Day care centres also give some educational programs. Child care service industry activities includes providing babysitting services, providing child and infant day care, providing group day care, operating head start programs, operating prekindergarten facilities and operating preschool facilities.

Child Care Services Industry Current Trends

According to child care services in Australia industry market research report the annualised growth for the five years ending 2012-13 has been skewed upwards to 5.3%. 

Major Child Care Services Industry Players

Some of the childcare service industry players in US are Penny & Peggy Nairn 24 Hour Child Care, Inc., Noah's Park Child Care, LLC, and The Original Mommy and Me.