The past two decades have seen increased use of, and public interest in, child care, and a corresponding increase in political involvement in this issue. During this period child care has emerged as a focus of public debate and government policy. The number of government funded child care places increased from nearly 59,000 in 1984 to 211,000 in 1993. However, despite the increased provision for, and use of, formal child care, most care of children, other than by parents, is provided on an informal basis, mainly by other family members. The various types of care used can be grouped into two main categories, formal care and informal care .
Informal care is non-regulated care either in the child's home or elsewhere.
This decline was evident for all age groups. An important reason for using child care, both formal and informal, is to provide care for children while parents are at work, and much of the overall increase in the past decade is related to the increased participation of women in the labour force. The slight decline in the use of child care since 1990 may be associated with the stabilisation of the labour force participation rate of married women. Parents were more likely to make informal care arrangements for their children when they needed time for personal reasons such as shopping, sport, time alone, appointments etc. Informal care was used slightly more by younger children and was generally provided by family members.