The per capita average monthly household earnings of children under 4 years of age who stayed where they lived from Monday to Friday, in the morning and in the afternoon (R$550), represented 56.6% of those who attended daycare or school (R$972) in 2015. This is shown in the supplement of Aspects of Care Taking of Children under 4 Years of Age of the National Household Sample Survey - PNAD 2015.

The survey unveiled that 84.4% (8.7 million) of the 10.3 million children under 4 years of age stayed in the same place all day long in 2015. The household where they lived prevailed in this stay (74.5% or 6.8 million), under the care taking of their guardians, whereas 16.6% (1.4 million) of them stayed in daycare or school in the morning and in the afternoon.

This publication also shows that 61.8% of the guardians of 7.7 million children in this age bracket who were out of daycare or school were interested in getting a seat (4.7 million). This percentage was lower in the higher classes of per capita average household earnings, hitting 54.4% in that of 3 minimum wages and more. In the class between no earnings and less than 1/4 minimum wages, this proportion was 61.5%. The interest of guardians in enrolling in daycare or school increased with the increase of the child´s age. While guardians of 49.1% of children under 1 year of age were interested, this proportion reached 78.6% for those aged 3 years.

Moreover, in 43.2% (2.1 million) of the cases the guardians took any action or measure to get a seat. This percentage was 26.4% in the North Region, whereas it hit 57.3% in the South Region.

Children under 4 years of age (10.3 million) represented 5.1% of the population and lived in 13.7% (9.2 million) of the households. For 83.8% (8.6 million) of them, the main guardian was a woman. Concerning employment, 52.1% of children had the main guardian employed in the reference week. When this person was a woman, the proportion lowered to 45.0%, whereas it reached 89.0% among men. The per capita average household earnings was lower in households with children under 4 years of age.

Household earnings of children who stay where they live all day long represent 56.6% of those attending daycare or school

In 2015, the per capita average monthly household earnings of children under 4 years of age who stayed in the household they lived all day long were R$550, reaching R$813 for those who stayed in other households and R$972 for those attending daycare or school.

The smallest difference was registered in the Northeast Region, in which the per capita household earnings of those who stayed in their households all day long (R$370) represented 77.9% of those attending daycare or school (R$475). Nevertheless, this region was the only one in which the per capita household earnings of children staying in other households (R$518) were higher than those attending daycare or school. On the other hand, children in the North who stayed in the household where they lived all day long recorded a per capitaaverage monthly earnings (R$416) below the half (49.0%) of those attending daycare or school in the morning and in the afternoon (R$855).

the 10.3 million children under 4 years of age in 2015, 84.4% of them (8.7 million) usually stayed, from Monday to Friday, in the morning and in the afternoon, in the same place and with the same person.

The younger the child, the higher the percentage of stay in the same place and with the same person all day long. For those under 1 year of age, this number reached 95.1%, whereas this proportion lowered to 70.1% among those aged 3 years.

Of the 8.7 million children under 4 years of age who usually stayed, from Monday to Friday, in the morning and in the afternoon, in the same place and with the same person, 78.6 % (6.8 million) stayed in the household where they lived, 4.4% (380 thousand) stayed in another household, 17.1% (1.5 million) stayed in another place, being daycare or school with 16.6% (1.4 million) and other institution or place with 0.5% (42 thousand).

In addition to the fact that most children stayed in the household where they lived all day long, care taking was mainly exerted by one of the persons pointed as their guardian (74.5% or 6.8 million). Other 314 thousand (3.6%) children stayed in another household under the care of a relative and 216 thousand (2.5%) stayed in the household where they lived under the care of a person not dwelling in this household. Only 1.4 million children (16.6%) stayed under the care of a daycare or school in the morning and in the afternoon.

As to the reasons that took the guardians to let the children under the responsibility of the persons and places discriminated, the reason for staying all day long in a particular place, in the majority of the cases (76.7%), was due to the fact that the selected environment offered the best conditions of care taking, food, affection and safety for the children. Coupled with the fact that, in the majority of the cases, children under 4 years of age stayed all day long in the household where they lived with their guardians (74.5%), it could point out that, according to their guardians, the very household offers the best conditions previously described for care taking of children in this age bracket.

Other reasons were pointed out with quite smaller proportions, like the place that offered the best conditions of interaction with other children and professional education (5.9%), nonexistence of a household member to take care of the child (4.3%) and that it was the only option available (4.7%).

Interest in enrolling in daycare or school increases with the advance of child´s age

Of the 10.3 million children under 4 years of age in 2015, 74.4% (7.7 million) were not attending daycare or school in any shift. This proportion reached 90.2% in the North Region, while the South posted the smallest estimate (65.9%). Of the contingent of non-enrolled, the guardians of these children showed interest in enrolling them in 61.8% (4.7 million) of the cases. The guardian was interested in less than half the children under 1 year of age (49.1%). However, this estimate increased with the advance of the child´s age, reaching 78.6% for those aged 3 years. This trend was registered in every region in Brazil, being the biggest percentage of interest for a seat recorded for children aged 3 years in the Northeast (82.8%). 

The percentage of children whose guardians were interested in enrolling them in daycare or school decreased in the higher classes of per capita average household earnings. In the class of no earnings up to less than 1/4 minimum wages, this proportion was 61.5% and increased up to that of 1/2 up to less than 1 minimum wage (63.9%). A reduction was recorded from the class of 1 up to less than 2 minimum wages (60.1%) and hit 54.4% in the class of per capita household earnings of 3 minimum wages and more.

Of the 4.7 million children under 4 years of age who were not enrolled in daycare or school, but whose guardians were interested in enrolling them, the guardians took any action or measure to get a seat in 43.2% of the cases (2.1 million). No action from the guardians was detected for 73.6% of the children in the North Region, whereas this percentage in the South Region was 42.7%.

Among the measures adopted by those who took any action, the most recurrent were the contact with a daycare, city hall or a municipal department to inform on the existence of seats (58.7%) and the enrollment in a waiting queue for seats (37.3%). In the North (76.1%) and Northeast (78.1%) Regions, the contact with daycare, city hall or municipal department to inform on the existence of seats prevailed and the enrollment in waiting queues for seats registered a lower proportion (17.3% and 14.5%, respectively).

Table 2 - Distribution of children under 4 years of age not enrolled in daycare or school, but whose guardians were interested in enrolling them in daycare or school, by Major Region, according to ocurrence and any decision taking to get a seat in daycare or school - 2015

Source: IBGE, Diretoria de Pesquisas, Coordenação de Trabalho e Rendimento, Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios 2015.

Per capita household earnings nearly double when no children under 4 years in household

In 2015, children under 4 years of age (10.3 million) accounted for 5.1% of the resident population in Brazil. The presence of children in this age group was recorded in 13.7% (9.3 million) of the households in Brazil, reaching a higher proportion in the North Region (18.2%) and in the rural areas (14.7%). Of the households where children under 4 years of age lived, 89.9% of them had only one dweller in this age bracket.

Earnings were the major difference between households with and without children under 4 years of age. In the households with children in this age, the per capita average monthly household earnings were R$715, which represented 53.0% of the earnings in the households without children (R$1,348). While 40.9% of the households without children were in the class of less than 1 minimum wage, this proportion was 74.0% among the households with children under 4 years of age.

The access to basic sanitation services was smaller in households with children under 4 years of age. The water supply through a general network (83.7% x 85.7%), the existence of a sewage collection network (77.1% x 81.2%) and direct waste collection (81.8% x 83.7%) were less covered in the households with children under 4 years of age than in the households without them.

Concerning the existence of sewage collection networks or septic tanks, the North Region posted the biggest difference, covering 56.1% of the households with children and 62.8% of those without them.

Women responsible for 83.8% of children under 4 years

Most of the children under 4 years of age (87.9%) had two persons as guardians. For 83.8% (8.6 million) of them, the first responsible person was a woman. The South Region registered the highest proportion of men in this condition (20.7%), whereas the Northeast reported the lowest one (11.9%).

The distribution of children according to the age bracket of the main guardian concentrated in the groups between 18 and 29 years (48.4%) and between 30 and 39 year of age (37.2%), higher than those registered in the age distribution of the whole population aged 15 years and over (23.3% and 19.8%, respectively).

In the disaggregation of the sex of the first guardian by age groups, the group between 15 and 17 years reported a participation of 2.9% for women and of 0.2% for men, pointing out a higher incidence of this assignment among the female teenagers. When it came to persons aged 40 years and over, the proportion of men (21.6%) was more than twice that reported for women (10.1%).

Regarding schooling of the guardian, the highest proportion was of children whose main guardian had 11 schooling years and more (52.2%). This bracket also prevailed in the population aged 15 years and over (43.1%). In the group of those with no education up to less than 4 schooling years and in the group between 4 and 7 schooling years, the proportion of guardians was lower than that reported in the population aged 15 years and over. In the bracket between 8 and 10 schooling years and in the bracket of 11 schooling years and over, this relation reversed, now the guardians recording figures above those of the population in general.

45.0% of children under 4 years have employed women as main guardian

Concerning employment, 52.1% of the children under 4 years of age had as main guardian a person who was employed in the reference week. When this person was a woman, the proportion lowered to 45.0%, whereas it reached 89.0% among men.

In the population aged 15 years and over, this distribution was 48.0% for women and 70.2% for men. In other words, when the estimate involved the condition of guardians, the difference was steeper, as the percentage of children under 4 years of age whose main guardian was an employed man was nearly twice that of children with employed women in this condition.

Social Communication
March 29, 2017