The social care-taking of the city-kids. Determinants for day-care attendance in early twentieth-century southern Sweden

The study investigates historical patterns of kindergarten participation, where the purpose is to contribute to a better understanding of the development of the kindergarten system as an early and important welfare intervention in the Swedish welfare state. Based on the Swedish industrial town of Landskrona in southern Sweden, the researchers investigate kindergarten participation in the early 20th century. Household composition, and demographic and socioeconomic conditions are investigated to understand what influenced the decision to enrol children in kindergarten during the period from 1905 to 1937.

The study provides a historical introduction to the development of kindergartens and highlights the factors that influenced families’ decisions to use kindergarten services. The analyses show that maternal marital status and occupation, household socioeconomic conditions, number of siblings, as well as the presence of other adult women in the household were factors that most influenced kindergarten participation. The study also shows that the majority of children who attended kindergarten were between the ages of 3 and 6.

The researchers use historical registry data from the city of Landskrona to investigate which factors influenced kindergarten participation. Demographic data were analysed in conjunction with a registry of individuals and registries of children enrolled in kindergarten. The study’s sample contains information about a total of 15,213 children aged 0-6 years from Landskrona, born between 1900 and 1935, of whom 1281 of these children attended kindergarten. To analyse the factors that determined children’s first admission to kindergarten, Cox proportional-hazards models were used.

Elwert, A., & Quaranta, L. (2023) The social care-taking of the city-kids. Determinants for day-care attendance in early twentieth-century southern Sweden, The History of the Family, 28(3), 508-529.