Volume 2 – From Birth to 29 Months

Number 10 – Standard or Non-Standard Parental Work Schedules and Childcare Arrangements

Over the past few decades the growth in non-standard jobsthose jobs that, in one way or another, differ from regular full-time employment with its standard daytime, Mondaythrough- Friday work schedules–has been striking. Many parents of young children work unusual hours, despite the inevitable strains it places on the balance between professional and family responsibilities. What impact do the non-standard work schedules of parents, and more specifically of mothers, have on the organization of regular childcare? This is the main question this issue attempts to answer based on data gathered during the third round of the QLSCD in 2000, when the children surveyed were about 2½ years old. It examines childcare provided by relatives, home-based childcare, unregulated childcare and the use of more than one type of childcare.