Preschool Child Care Arrangements in China

Yi Pan, University of California, Los Angeles

The tension caused by work and family conflict experienced by Chinese mothers may be extremely high, since Chinese women’s labor force participation rate is among the highest in the world. This study examines preschool (0-6 years old) childcare arrangement and its determinants in Chinese families. While Chinese mothers of preschool children assume the majority of childcare responsibility, my analysis using the data from China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) shows that there is a considerable variation in childcare arrangement across households, which requires comprehensive investigation. Chinese families employ different strategies to relieve the tension of work and family conflict Chinese mothers experienced. This study consists of three parts: first, the study focuses on division of child care labor between mothers and fathers and its determinants; second, this study investigates the contribution of kinship to childcare in Chinese families; the third section examines the role of childcare service purchase.