Most of the time, when people hear the phrase “child care”, almost all of them instantly and instinctively think of “day-care centers” only. As a result, when they hear “advocacy” for child care, they likewise assume that it is the promotion of just day-care centers. Day-care centers are a form of child care, but they are merely one among many. Therefore, child care is always happening, even if the child(ren) do(es) not attend a day-care center. The fact of the matter is that where there are children, there "child care" is also.

Hence, the term "child care" is simply and literally self-defining. “Child Care” refers to the provision of CARE and LEARNING to children in any given way, time, and place. Although there are many philosophers of education who contend that child care is essentially a part of school education, child care (in Canada, at least) transpires beyond the education ministry or education system. As care and learning are the natural elements of child care, parents are the primary enactors of it. Otherwise, child care is acted out by different designated caregiver-educators.

Because child care occurs in various means, occasions, and spaces, its structure or appearance also ranges from one thing to another. The following are the diverse kinds of child care:

BABY-SITTING: This type of child care is usually short-term/temporary and often takes place in the house of the children’s parents or guardians. Due to its informal procedure, the persons who are asked to baby-sit may be older children, next-door neighbours, or close friends. In addition to the lack of child care services, the need for it is, at times, unpredictable, so that it is impossible to hire baby-sitters who are actually certified caregiver-educators. However, some parents or guardians would still prefer this type of child care, because they know the babysitter, it is accessible, and cheap.

NANNY: In this type of child care, a nanny is a permanent/contracted person who may or may not live with the family in their house. Many nannies come from other countries, the most notable of which is the Philippines. Some of them have been only minimally trained in child care, and others have had no training, at all. However, nannies are underpaid, despite the fact that they do more than just child care in the family's home, e.g. domestic work. These may be the primary reasons for some Canadian families to choose a nanny as their choice of child care. (Sometimes, a "nanny" can simply refer to a family's long-time baby-sitter).

HOME-BASED: This type of child care takes place in the house of the provider. He/She generally will have a small group of children, among whom is/are possibly his/her own child(ren). Providers for this type of child care must be licensed, although there are several who are not. Moreover, some of the providers have been trained in child care, and others have not. Many post-secondary institutions now offer courses for this type of child care. Some families prefer this type of child care because: it is cheap; the families, providers, and children know each other, and they may even live close together; the providers may open for as long as the families need child care, etc.

FAMILY: Parents or guardians are the original “caregiver-educators” of their own children. Some parents or guardians provide child care to their own children. This means that the parents or guardians stay at home, where they do full-time home-making and/or their work. In some cases, other family members or relatives provide child care. There are some families who prefer this type of child care, in accordance to their own lifestyle, beliefs (in child care), and/or culture. (Yet, it is also very important to note that other families are compelled to provide child care to their own children, due and in addition to many other responsibilities).

DAY-CARE: This is the most popular and common type of child care. The children may be enrolled permanently or temporarily part-time or full-time in a center that may be located in any building, such as a house, community center, school, or even in a church. Unless it is privately owned (for-profit) or managed by a community center, a day-care center is organized by board members (non-profit), most of whom are parents of the attending children. Day-Care centers employ certified caregiver-educators who have been schooled/trained in any or all of the following: Early Childhood Education, Infants/Toddlers Education, Special Needs Education, and School-Age Child Care. (Unfortunately, there is still a number of day-care centers whose employees are not certified caregiver-educators; especially in Before-and-After School/Out-of-School, where, in order to work, one only has to be a "responsible adult").

*OCCASIONAL: Sometimes, child care is needed and organized at a certain assembly. If the gathering is strictly for the parents or adults (such as an annual general meeting or a work convention), then child care is usually situated at a separate room from where the gathering takes place. If the gathering is participated by parents and child altogether (such as a birthday party or a community event), then child care ensues at the same time and place as the party or the event. For all of these occasional gatherings, the child care providers are either certified caregiver-educators, parents, other adults, older children, or any one or all of them.

There are appropriate caregiver-educators for the right age-groups of the children who attend day-care centers. These are the classes or divisions at day-care centers:

INFANTS: 0 to 1 ½ years of age
TODDLERS: 1 ½ to 3 years of age
PRESCHOOL: 3 to 5 years of age
BEFORE-AND-AFTER SCHOOL/OUT-OF-SCHOOL: 5 to 12 years of age
*SPECIAL NEEDS: There is a scarce number of day-care centers that are for children of exceptionalities only.

Some day-care centers only have one class or division. Other day-care centers have different classes or divisions from the above-mentioned. For example, a day-care center may have a joint class or division for Infants and Toddlers. Another example is a day-care center that further parts its own class(es) or division(s) into more age-groups, e.g. a Preschool that has separate groups of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old's.