The Role of Child-care Providers Expected by Parents Stressed with Anxieties of Child-Rearing

Abstract

Today parents (guardians etc.)’ anxieties about child-rearing have got higher in the constantly changing relationship of society and family. This research explores parents’ anxieties about childrearing and the role of child-care providers expected by parents. 772 parents at kindergartens and nursery schools were surveyed for this study to evaluate the relationships of their anxieties about child-rearing with the following factors respectively: situations of their child-rearing such as employment, their own time for hobbies etc., the degree of their satisfaction toward kindergartens and nursery schools, and their expectation for child-rearing support from child-care providers. There are four research findings, as follows: 1) parents without employment suffer higher anxieties of child-rearing, and parents with less time for their hobbies suffer higher anxieties of childrearing, 2) parents hold high satisfaction toward kindergartens and nursery schools, 3) parents expect child-care providers to “cooperative activities and individual support,” “offer them assistance and counseling,” and “dispatch information on and maintain the social network of child-rearing support,” and 4) the role of child-care providers expected by parents was particularly high in “cooperative activities and individual support” and also in “dispatch information on and maintain the social network of child-rearing support.”