Who Cares? Conflicting Ideas on Day Care in an Era of Social Change (Denmark 1930-2010s)

This paper analyses the links between family and the welfare state in Denmark from the 1930s until 2010s with special emphasis on the child care. It traces the origins of child care as a social policy directed towards single mothers. From the 1930s this gradually change as the idea of state interventions in family life gains more foothold. In the postwar era day care for children was dramatically expanded to reach almost full coverage in 1990s. This driven by concerns about labour supply and gender equality. And it did not happen without resistance: in the 1950s there was a general concern among experts and policy makers that day care for children was not the ideal solution, and from 1960s public day care becomes part of an ideological struggle. The paper analyses the complex interplay between ideas and changing social structures.