Working parents utilize a number of options for childcare. Various types of childcare are of a better quality than other types. A child who is supervised at home by another child likely experiences fundamentally different care than one supervised by a parent at home. What, precisely, the qualitative differences are between various care options is debatable. What is not, is the use frequency of the various options.
Most childcare occurs at the child's home.
The next most commonly used option is for the child to stay at the home of a paid care provider. Both supervision by an older child and supervision at a relative's house are used by the same number of respondents, viz. Although nearly three-quarters of respondents report being satisfied with their current childcare arrangements, several problems or issues do exist, as evidenced by answers to many of the remaining questions. Seventy-four percent of respondents must either take off a day without pay, or use their own vacation time, personal leave or sick leave when a child is ill. Another problem is coordinating childcare with existing work hours.