%0 Journal Article
%T Who Cares? Motivations for Unregulated Child Care Use
%A Kerryn Colen
%A Rhonda Breitkreuz
%J Journal of Family Issues
%@ 1552-5481
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/0192513X18806025
%X This article explores the motivations for unregulated child care use within Canada. Using focus group data from 109 mothers, we analyze unregulated child care use within a policy context in which regulated child care is only available for 20% of preschool children. The key drivers for unregulated care were framed by participants as benefits: trust in a known caregiver with similar values, offered in a home-like environment. Importantly, one driver that was not seen as beneficial was the lack of affordable and accessible, regulated child care. Sometimes used as a last resort amid regulated child care shortages, unregulated care became the driver of how mothers organized their time. Within the constraints of a limited regulatory child care environment, we argue that Mathieu¡¯s (2016) concept of demotherization is beyond the grasp of the majority of Canadian mothers
%K child care
%K family policy
%K gender and Family
%K qualitative
%K work and family
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0192513X18806025