Today in the scientific world it is well known that out-of-home day care is not a risk for child development if the care quality is adequate and conforms to particular structural and personal care standards. However, children do react in very different ways to out-of-home child-care. This depends on the behavior of the psychological parent. The reaction of the parents in turn depends to a great extend on systemic factors: Is the family satisfied and happy with the child care situation? How is the social environment reacting? Was this particular child care “solution” planned or was the decision mainly due to external? These questions are influenced by actual social changes not only in Swiss society. Primiparous women become older and older, female full time employment increases along with the level of education and therefore fathers are involved more often and more direct in the education and care of little children than before. The “new” role of the father in early education and care is not given enough attention in this context so far. Additionally, cross-generational family networks become looser and looser which raises the need of external childcare today. Human enhancement always takes part in a mutual reaction of system and environment. Therefore the study based on an interactional model questions which individual basic conditions (employment of father/mother, parents’ ages, families’ financial situation, family networks and relationships, living situation, parents’ psychological stress and other external conditions) and causes (values, educational opinions, traditions, own experiences, visions and images of personal future) influence today’s decisions and needs of a family regarding the choice of a certain child-care setting and how do comport the children in these different settings. Research questions: • Which factors structure a couples’ ecological systems environment before the birth of a first child and how do these factors influence the choice (or necessity) of a specific child-care setting (i.e. a comparison of home and out-of-home settings)? • How do the parents deal with the possibilities they have and the necessities they are subjected to in the ecological systems environment? • How does this ecological systems environment change after the child’s birth and which effects do the changes in the system have on the child-care setting planned prenatal (be at home or out-of-home care)? • How is the child acting in this ecological systems environment (home and out-of-home setting) and how do the parents react to the child’s developments?

Qualitative and quantitative research methods against the theoretical background of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological system approach. Comparison of two different samples: A: 20 women bearing their first child and fathers with infants’ out of home care (min. 50%) after the early 14 months of life. B: 20 women bearing their first child and fathers with exclusively infants’ home care by mother, father and close relatives. T1 (pre-natal) A/B: Interviews with parents to research the ecological systems environment. T2 (post-natal) A/B: Repeating the interview with parents after 1.5 - 2 years regarding the children’s impact on parents’ ecological systems environment and general changes. T3 A/B: Child – behavioral checklist (CBCL) to research the child behavior as it is seen by the parents. T4 A/B: Child observation in a playing situation with both parents to research how the child is acting in its ecological systems environment and the relationship towards the parents.

The research design has to be regarded under the assumption that neither pure home nor out-of home care (here: nursery) settings are the exclusive optimum in early child care and education settings. In fact, reviewing selected cases it should become clear that not only socioeconomic factors but also certain pedagogical, psychological and systemic requirements should be present in the environment of a little child so that it can develop in an optimal way – regardless of the actual child-care setting. The results should be able to show how in certain cases these child care settings should be structured and consequently a theory of how families can already be pedagogically supported just before the birth of the child will be developed. The results promise to deliver theoretical and practical knowledge for the field of early childhood pedagogy and socialization in general.