Formal child care and children’s socioemotional well-being: Comparing the Netherlands, Finland and the UK

Most research on formal child care and children’s outcomes has focused on single countries. We however contend that the societal context may moderate the association between formal child care and children’s socioemotional well-being. We examined this by comparing the Netherlands, Finland and the UK; countries that represent three welfare state regimes that differ regarding family policies. Data from the comparative survey ‘Families 24/7’ were used, including 975 parents with children aged 0–12. Results indicated that, compared to the UK, longer hours in formal care were less beneficial in the Netherlands. Furthermore, spending time in formal care during nonstandard hours was more harmful for children in Finland compared to the UK. Lastly, using more caregivers was more disruptive for British children than for Dutch children. No differences were found between Finland and the Netherlands. We discuss the implications of our findings, especially concerning care during nonstandard hours.