Home from home is best

Original title: Liefst zoals thuis.

In theory, formal out-of-school childcare facilities are an important provision in enabling people to combine work and care tasks, but in practice they enjoy little popularity. With effect from 2007, Dutch primary schools are required to offer out-of-school childcare facilities to parents wishing to use them. The question addressed in this study is what the important characteristics of a good out-of-school childcare provision are, both for parents and children. Which aspects do they consider valuable? In a number of focus groups, parents and children spoke extensively on this question. The discussions confirmed that the Netherlands does not have a culture where parents regard it is natural to hand over the care for their child to 'strangers'. It also emerged from the study that out-of-school childcare appears to have an image problem; parents who do not use it often have a negative perception of it. It was also found that out-of-school childcare facilities have difficulty in attracting older primary schoolchildren.