Excerpts
Montréal, September 30, 2025. – The Institut de la statistique du Québec released today the publication La fréquentation d’un milieu de garde chez les tout-petits d’environ un an et demi based on the longitudinal study Growing Up in Québec. This study is following more than 4,000 children born in Québec in 2020–2021 until they reach adulthood.
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Toddlers are starting childcare later than they did 20 years ago
On average, toddlers were 10.7 months old when they started attending childcare, and only 6% started before the age of 6 months. By comparison, in the first edition of this longitudinal study—which followed a cohort of babies born in Québec in 1997–1998—nearly 14% of babies aged about 5 months were in childcare while their parents were working or taking classes.
Children’s later entry into childcare is probably due in part to the Québec Parental Insurance Plan, which came into effect in January 2006 and allows parents to spend more time with their child after birth.
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