Child care

Almost half (46%) of children under age 10 in Iowa received child care from someone other than a parent. For children that are in child care more than five hours per week, most were either in a day care center (34%) or with an unrelated babysitter (32%). Those under age five (39%) were more likely to be in a day care center than those ages five to nine (27%). Just over one in four children were either being cared for by a grandparent (17%) or another relative (11%). Four out of ten children were in child care an average of forty hours per week or more. This was also more common for children under five (44%) than those ages five to nine (32%). Almost all children had parents who were either very satisfied (78%) or somewhat satisfied (17%) with their child care situation.

About a third (32%) of children had parents with a problem finding child care so that they could go to work or school. For 15 percent, this was a big problem. In the previous year, almost one in four (23%) had trouble finding care when they had a sick child and needed to go to work or school. For 20 percent of children, a parent had wanted to stay home with his or her sick child in the previous year but was not able to get off work.