Child care is an integral part of the web of influences and experiences that shape children's development. Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach that covers both historic and economic contexts, this unique book characterizes child care in 18 countries on five continents. Specific historical roots and the current social contexts of child care are delineated in industrialized as well as in developing countries. To increase the depth of crosscultural analysis and integration, commentators from countries and disciplines other than the authors comment on the issues raised in each chapter.

"The authors, all eminent behavioral scientists, are a virtual United Nations of child-care experts. Their uniformly high-quality contributions are dense with informative material....the commentaries provide an unusual level of integration for an edited volume."
—Contemporary Psychology

"...a timely book that should appeal to a wide audience, including researchers in the day care field, developmentalists, social scientists, and educators with an interest in young children, cross-cultural issues, and social policy, and the educated lay person who wants to learn more about child care."
—Child Development Abstracts & Bibliography

Michael E. Lamb, Kathleen J. Sternberg, Carl-Philip Hwang, Anders G. Broberg