Who uses public childcare for 2‐year‐old children? Coherent family policies and usage patterns in Sweden, Finland and Western Germany

E uropean countries have increased their public childcare provision for children under age 3. However, it is unclear if and how usage patterns differ across countries. This study examined the relationship between the socio‐economic characteristics of mothers and the use of childcare for 2‐year‐old children. Using E uropean U nion S tatistics on I ncome and L iving C onditions data for the years 2005–2008, we analysed the characteristics of mothers and usage patterns in S weden, F inland and W estern G ermany. To single out the effect of maternal employment, working and non‐working mothers were investigated separately. Our findings showed that, in S weden, a country with strong support for dual‐earner families, usage was largely independent of mothers' characteristics. However, in W estern G ermany, where more support is given to male breadwinner families, and in F inland, a country with pluralistic family support, highly educated mothers were found to be more likely to use childcare than were mothers with lower levels of education.