Most child care facilities are geared towards the traditional Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. workweek. For those already relying on some form of child care during the weekday, finding child care on evenings or weekends can be especially challenging.
The question is, who minds the children when most traditional child care centres are closed?
When we asked earlier this summer, 40% (correction) of Canadian parents or guardians of children aged 4 to 12 used some form of child care, and just over one in five of those that used child care (21%) used it in the evening or on weekends.
The most common type of care used by parents in the evening or on weekends was care by a relative (52%) (correction) or sibling (19%) (correction). One in nine (correction) used a non-relative such as a nanny or baby sitter to mind their child in their home (11%) (correction).
Another survey also asked about evening and weekend child care among children under the age of six. Among children in evening and weekend care, just under four in five parents or guardians (79%) with children under the age of six asked a relative, 8% used a non-relative to mind their child in their home, 7% used a daycare centre, preschool, or childcare centre and 5% used a family child care home.
Correction notice
A weighting adjustment has been applied to the Survey on Before and After School Care in Canada. The weights for four- and five-year-old children have been updated to reflect the proportion of four- and five-year old children attending school. Previously, the weights of four- and five-year-old children represented those attending school, as well as some who were not eligible to attend school during the reference period of the survey and were therefore not in the target population.
Contact information
For more information, contact the Statistical Information Service (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).