Elsevier

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Volume 63, 2nd Quarter 2023, Pages 113-120
Early Childhood Research Quarterly

“A win-win for all of us": COVID-19 sheds light on the essentialness of child care as key infrastructure

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2022.12.001Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Essentialness of child care revealed through COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Child care is mutually beneficial for children, parents, families, staff, and the community.

  • Child care enhances capabilities, child development, and economic opportunity.

  • Investments in child care reap short and long-term benefits.

Abstract

Child care centers in the United States allow many parents and caregivers to work in and outside of the home and support the growth and development of children. Child care closures and COVID-19 mitigation measures at the onset of the pandemic heightened the need for and awareness of the role of child care as core infrastructure. The purpose of our study was to examine the perceived role and benefits of child care based on the lived experiences of parents/caregivers and staff navigating child care during the pandemic. We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with parents/caregivers (n = 20) of children who attended child care and staff (n = 12) who were working at child care programs in Ohio from September to November 2020. Qualitative data were coded and analyzed through the lens of four frameworks (i.e., capabilities, developmental, economics, and mutualism) related to child well-being. Our results highlight the perceived value of child care (a) for fostering capabilities and developmental growth in children; (b) for providing economic benefits for children, parents, and staff of child care programs; and (c) as an essential infrastructure that mutually benefits children, parents, families, staff, and the community. Findings support existing evidence regarding the broader impacts of child care and further investigation into the role of child care. We highlight the potential need for further investments in policies, resources, and supports for child care that reflects its essentialness and generative role.

Keywords

Child care
COVID-19
Child development
Qualitative research

Data Availability

  • The authors are unable or have chosen not to specify which data has been used.

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