Figure 1: Current Child Care Share of Parents Using Each Type of Nonparental Child Care Figure 1
Relative
27%
Child care center
22%
School-based program
15%
Family day care
14%
Nanny/au pair
10%
Other non-relative
9%
Combination (2 or more)
11%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20% 25% 30%
Notes: Source: Robin Hood Source: Survey of 4,306 parents and caregivers of children ages 0-5 living in New York City; conducted by NORC for New America’s New Practice Lab and Robin Hood, March 31-April 20, 2026. Note: Based on responses from 3,070 parents who regularly have someone beside a parent care for any of their children under six years old. Regularly was defined as care used weekly, and not occasional babysitting. “Combination (2 or more)” reflects parents who chose the response option “Combination of these options” for at least one child, indicating that at least one of their children utilizes more than one type of nonparental child care.
Roughly one in ten parents (11 percent) regularly use a combination of child care arrangements. Based on free-response answers (reviewed and categorized by NORC) to a question about how par- ents combine arrangements, 31 percent combine a school-based program with separate after-school care; nearly one in four (23 percent) use formal settings some days and informal settings on others; 18 percent of parents depend on grandparents alongside another form of care; and 14 percent have a separate caregiver who handles drop-offs and pick-ups. 11 Parents’ free-response survey answers un- derscore that many families are piecing together multiple care arrangements to cover the hours they need care; for some parents, this is driven by necessity as no single child care option is meeting all their needs, while others prefer having access to different providers to meet different needs. It is not just child care settings that vary but also care schedules, and the survey makes clear that child care is not only a Monday-through-Friday concern. Among parents who use nonparental care, 28 percent regularly use child care on Saturday, and one in three (33 percent) do so on Sunday. Saturday evening is a common window for parents who report having regular but non-daytime work sched- ules. 12 Parents who use child care on weekends are more likely to rely on relatives, nannies, friends, neighbors, or other non-relatives.
11 For the purpose of this report, the terms “formal child care” or “formal settings” are used to describe child care centers, family child care or home- based programs (licensed care provided in residential settings), and school-based programs such as Pre-K. The terms “informal child care” or “informal settings” are used here to describe care provided by a relative, nanny/au pair, or other non-relative such as a friend, neighbor, or other non-licensed caregiver. 12 Survey respondents were not asked about their occupation or the industry in which they work, but some industries, including hospitality, the arts, and medicine, regularly necessitate weekend evening and overnight hours.
THE 2026 NEW YORK CITY PARENT SURVEY : WHAT CHILD CARE PARENTS WANT 10
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker