| Summary: | The study explored the present child care arrangements of Myanmar working mother with preschool aged children. Two hundred and five mothers with preschool aged children from six government ministries in Yangon were surveyed on their current child care arrangements. Data obtained from these respondents revealed the major care givers, the most common form of child care settings, the most common reasons for choosing a certain care giver and setting, the advantages and disadvantages of their present chi;d care arrangement, the criteria used for the present (actual) child care arrangement, the criteria the respondents use choosing their desired child care arrangement, and the respondent's rating on the importance of child care giver qualities. The study also attempted to know the respondents' expectation from the Myanmar government on child care matters. It also tried to find out the relationship of 16 independent variables to actual as well as desired child care arrangements: personal characteristics of working mothers (age, highest educational attainment, marital status, income, type of job); family characteristics of working mothers (joint family income, composition of household, size of family, husband's educational attainment, type of job of husband, husband's working hours, presence of house help); and characteristics of preschool aged children (age, birth order, health problems, personality problems). The Statistical Analysis System was used to find out the percentage, chi-square value and possibility value which are needed to analyze the obtained data. The findings of this study indicated that the major care givers of preschool aged children of Myanmar working mothers from government ministries were children's grandmothers. Nannies/maids and relatives of respondents were found as the second major care givers. It was also discovered that children's own home was the most common form of child care location. day care centers, nurseries and preschools were also popular among mothers of preschool aged children. Government and private programs were also found to be popular. For infants, the needs of a child was reported as the most important criterion used by the mothers in choosing their present (actual) child care arrangement. This is followed by "quality", "availability", "location" and "cost". For toddlers and preschoolers, the respondents reported that quality was the most important criterion followed by availability, location, needs of children and cost. Some respondents expresses that "good quality", one that "meet the child's needs" and "availability during work hours" as advantageous of their current child care arrangements. Some mothers reported that "poor quality", "difficulty in adjusting available time" and "does not meet the child's needs" as disadvantages of their current child care arrangements. The reasons given by most respondents for their chosen child care arrangements at were; good care giver "quality", "availability" and "skill in preparing children for their future schooling". The findings of this study also revealed the desired child care location; type of organization which provided the child care services; and care giver. Children's own home was mentioned as the most desired location for infant toddler care and preschool was reported as the most desired place for preschoolers. Government and private organizations were reported to be the most desired organizations to provide child care services for children of the three-age groups. Mothers and grandmothers were chosen as desired caregivers for infants and toddlers, while teachers were the most desired caregivers for preschoolers. majority of the respondents rated quality, personality and availability as very important characteristics of caregivers. These respondents proposed a fee of 150 to 300 kayats per month for caregiving. They expected government the number of day cares, nurseries and preschools. They also suggested that the government should subsidize the cost of child care, open more child caring facilities in site (in every ministry) near works site and in every convenient place including township. Significant relationships were found between some dependent and independent variables. Mother's age, educational attainment, type of job, family income, household type, presence of house-maid, number of children, size of family, age, and educational attainment of husband were found to be significantly related to actual and desired child care arrangements. Criteria mentioned by respondents as important in choosing their current and desired child care arrangements are: one that meets the needs of the child, quality, availability, location and cost. (Table 12 page 81). These criteria were ranked differently for infants, toddlers and preschoolers by parent respondents. For infants, one that meets the needs of the child was ranked as first priority.
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