Nsece Household Analysis: An Exploration of the Alignment of Nonstandard Work Hours and Nonparental Childcare Hours

Background:

This paper examines the demand and use of nonstandard hour childcare with a focus on children whose parents work during nonstandard hours. Previous studies on nonstandard hour childcare have rarely distinguished between parents who work during standard and nonstandard hours, which may result in a crucial gap in the literature. There could be potential differences between these two groups of parents that may also impact childcare experiences during nonstandard hours. We address this gap by examining the usage patterns of nonstandard hour childcare by nonstandard hour employees and its relationship with parental socioeconomic status.

Method:

We take advantage of household calendar data for children under age 5 from the 2019 National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE). The NSECE is a nationally representative survey that allows us to align data on parents’ and children’s schedules over a representative week. We illustrate the patterns of parents’ employment and children’s nonparental childcare in a week. We then stratify our sample by household income and examine how nonstandard hour employment and childcare are associated with income. Furthermore, after restricting the sample to children whose every parent works during nonstandard hours, we employ a logistic regression model to investigate factors that are associated with the use and types of childcare during nonstandard hour childcare. We hierarchically add child and family-level (child age, child race/ethnicity, child health, parental education, household income, family structure, and urbanicity) and employment-level characteristics (schedule predictability, hours of work, and variable shifts) to the model.

Results:

We find that both parental work participation and children’s usage of nonparental care are highest during standard hours (8 am to 6 pm) on weekdays. Still, there is parental work activity during nonstandard hours and the pattern of children’s care schedules generally mirrors parental work schedules during these times. Nonstandard hour employment is not uncommon, with an average of 46% of parents participating in some nonstandard employment regardless of income. Among children whose every parent works during nonstandard hours, the most common care arrangement during nonstandard hours is with unpaid individual providers. However, stratified by income, children from higher-income families are more likely to be in center care during nonstandard hours compared to those from lower-income families, consistent with income differences in usage patterns during standard hours. As income decreases, children are more likely to be cared for by unpaid individual providers during nonstandard hours. Importantly, some children regardless of income do not have a regular care arrangement at all when their parents work nonstandard hours.

Conclusions and Implications:

Parents and children spend some time in employment and nonparental childcare during nonstandard hours irrespective of income. However, variations in childcare usage based on household income and childcare type indicate a need for public intervention. Public efforts to expand access to childcare to help meet the needs of parents who work nonstandard hours should consider both availability and affordability gaps by economic status.