News Release
October 27, 2025
Contacts: Will Bohlen, [email protected]
Lisa Lederer,  [email protected]

Parents, Child Care Providers Share Trust, Support Regulations & Standards to Oversee Child Care Programs, Recognize Programs Help Families Build Community

New Surveys Find Strong Agreement Country Needs an Affordable, Reliable Child Care System

As the country grapples with a child care crisis that is harming young children, families, businesses, and our economy, new survey results from research conducted with parents of children ages 0 to 5 and child care providers find agreement between the two communities across a range of issues. These include the need for strong regulations and standards to keep children and adults safe in child care environments; recognition that child care providers help young children develop skills, morals and values; and appreciation for the ways in which child care programs help families develop supportive communities.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and MomsRising commissioned the surveys from the bipartisan team of Lake Research Partners and Bellwether Research and Consulting earlier this year. They find strong agreement across all demographic lines, and among providers as well as parents of young children who do and do not attend child care programs, that the nation needs an affordable, reliable child care system. The high cost of child care is a concern for 77% of parents surveyed, and a big concern for more than half (51%). Eighty-four percent of parents agree – and 62% strongly agree – that many parents of young children either need to work or want to work, and we need a child care system that is reliable and affordable.

“We are far from having the affordable, accessible, high-quality child care system our nation needs,” said Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director and CEO of MomsRising. “Our child care system is in crisis with programs all over the country closing every week. It’s past time lawmakers at all levels prioritize stabilizing our child care system, so moms and caregivers can go to work, so our youngest children can enter school ready to learn, so businesses can hire the workers they need, and so our economy can thrive.”

The surveys also find deep trust between parents and the child care workforce, with more than four in five parents (81%) trusting their own child care providers, and 72% trusting child care providers generally. Eighty-four percent of parents who identify as Democratic and 70% who identify as Republican trust child care providers a lot. 

“Every day, in communities across the country, families and early childhood educators are working side-by-side as partners in support of children’s positive growth, development, and learning,” said Michelle Kang, NAEYC’s CEO. “These meaningful results show that as parents and providers, we are united in wanting safe, supportive, quality early childhood environments that help build strong foundations for families and bright futures for children, during the early years that shape them for the rest of their lives.”

Among the other findings:

• Regulations. Both parents and child care providers say standards are important to keep children and providers safe, with 87% of parents of young children and 77% of providers selected from an online panel agreeing with that statement. Agreement among parents crosses political party and racial lines and is strong among parents of children who receive care in a formal setting, an informal setting, and a religious/faith-based setting.
• Ratios. Large majorities of both providers and parents prefer that child care programs have fewer children per adult, so children can get more individualized attention. Nearly half of parents (49%), and 41% of providers selected from the online panel would prefer that programs have fewer children per adult than they do now, compared to 29% of parents who say programs should keep the same number of children per adult as they do now. Just 14% of parents say programs should have more children per adult than they do now.
• Staff Qualifications and Licensing. Parents and providers are aligned in rejecting the idea – espoused by some lawmakers – that qualifications for child care providers should be minimal in order to meet the need for more providers. There is appreciably stronger support among every group surveyed that qualifications for child care providers should be higher so children can get the best start in life. And in fact, an overwhelming majority of parents (75%) think that people who work in child care programs should be licensed to practice by a government body, just like other professionals.  
• Social Skills. By overwhelming majorities, parents and providers agree that child care providers deliver critical support in helping the young children develop age-appropriate skills like managing their emotions and building healthy relationships. Four in five parents (82%) and 78% of providers selected from the online panel agree.
• Community. Parenting babies and young children can be isolating, and all groups surveyed recognize that child care programs build community and create opportunities for support. Four in five parents and providers (80% each) agree with that statement. Agreement crosses party and demographic lines.

The survey results are available here.

The online parent survey was conducted March 6 to 17, 2025, reaching a total of 600 parents of children ages 0 - 5 nationwide, with oversamples of 112 parents in Arizona and 124 parents in Florida. If this poll were conducted among a probability sample, then the margin of error for parents of children ages 0-5 would be +/- 4.0 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence interval.

The child care provider survey was conducted with two communities. The first, conducted from March 6 to 17, 2025, reached a total of 275 early child care providers with respondents drawn from an online panel and screened to be early child care providers. If this poll were conducted among a probability sample, then the margin of error would be +/- 5.9 percentage points at the 95% confidence interval; the margin of error is higher among subgroups. The second, conducted from May 7 to May 13, 2025, reached a total of 235 early child care providers who were invited by NAEYC because they had previously taken at least one of NAEYC's field surveys. The goal was to bring in more voices of providers who work in suburban or rural settings and work in non-religious settings. If this poll were conducted among a probability sample, then the margin of error for that group would be +/- 6.4 percentage points at the 95% confidence interval. 

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The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a professional membership organization that works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children. The association comprises tens of thousands of members of the early childhood community and 50 Affiliates, all committed to delivering on the promise of high-quality early learning.

MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to improve family economic security, stop discrimination against women and moms, and build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: www.MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.