Introduction
Ever since large numbers of women began entering the work force in the late 1960s,
child care has been controversial. Now members of America's first generation raised
in day care are old enough to be parents themselves, yet society remains divided
over who should be minding the kids. With more than half of all mothers with young
children working, many women's groups and child-development specialists want more
help from government and businesses. Income subsidies and improved care quality,
they say, would be wise investments in reducing youth crime and underperformance in
schools. Traditionalists counter that child care is the responsibility of families,
not government or industry. They call for one parent or the other to interrupt
careers to maintain the parent-child bond.
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