Most preschoolers receive care in a home environment.
The choice of child care arrangements for preschool-age children is one of the most important daily decisions parents make. It is an age when children are most dependent on a care provider's supervisory skills and often marks the time when children make their first prolonged social contacts with persons outside the immediate family. In 1991, there were 9.9 million children under the age of 5 who were in need of care while their mothers were at work. Most of the children taken care of in their own homes were cared for by their fathers. In comparison, among those taken care of outside of the home, most were cared for by family day care providers - nonrelatives in the provider's home.