This term describes the care of young children during the day by people other than their parents. The Pew Research Center reported in July that about seventy-five percent of American women work full-time. Many of these working women are mothers who depend on some form of day care.

Some parents leave their children with family members, neighbors or friends. Or, they may employ a nanny. This person is a trained care-giver who either lives in the family’s home or comes to work at the house every day.

Other parents use an au pair to care for their children. Au pairs are young foreign students taking part in a one-year cultural and educational exchange program. They live in the home of their American family, work about forty-five hours a week and attend classes part-time at a college or university.

Day care centers usually cost less than employing a nanny or au pair. Many large companies offer day care for their employees. This service is usually provided by a separate for-profit business. Other day care centers are not connected to companies but are also run as for-profit businesses. Some churches operate day care centers as non-profit organizations.

In-home day care is also popular. Single individuals operate these small businesses in their homes. Local laws decide the ages and number of children permitted.

The cost of day care in the United States depends on many things, such as the age of the child and where you live. The size of the day-care center and whether it is government-approved can also influence the cost.

In Washington, D.C., in-home day care costs about two hundred dollars a week for each child. A for-profit day care center costs about two hundred fifty dollars a week. Non-profit church day care costs about one hundred ninety dollars a week.

Professional nannies in the Washington area earn several hundred dollars a week. However, this amount may differ depending on the number of children cared for, and the number of hours worked. Au pairs in the United States receive a small weekly wage. They also are given two weeks paid vacation and five hundred dollars toward the cost of required school work.

Most American families can stop paying for day care once the child reaches the age of five and can enter the public school system.