Using Philadelphia as a case study, Rose traces the transformation of day care from a charity for poor single mothers in the early 20th century to a socially accepted need of ordinary families by the 1950s. She explores the history of day care from the perspective of the families who used it as well as the philanthropists and social workers who administered it.

Introduction Part I: Establishing Day Care, 1890-1930 1. "Foster Mothers": Creating Day Nurseries 2. Using Day Nurseries 3. Deserving Mothers: Day Care as Welfare 4. Day Care as Education: The Emergence of the Nursery School Part II: Transforming Day Care, 1930-1960 5. Day Care and Depression 6. Battling for Mothers' Labor: Day Care During World War II 7. From Charity to Legitimate Need: The Postwar Years Conclusion

Elizabeth RoseVisiting Assistant Professor of History, Trinity College, CT

"One of the greatest strengths of this book is its use of case records from individual day care centers over the course of the 70 years examined by the work. These rich records allow Rose to show who actually used day care centers--and how that population changed over time; they allow her to get at the motives of day care parents for placing their children in a group care facility, parents' attitudes toward women's waged work, and their attitudes towards day care itself. Historians are often frustrated by their lack of access to the motives, ideas, and values of ordinary people, but here Rose joins the growing group of historians who are carefully interrogating case records produced by social workers to illuminate the world of clients. She does so with great skill and insight."--Robyn Muncy, University of Maryland at College Park |k No