Childcare for Children under Th ree Years of Age from Mothers’ Point of View within the International Context

Th e present study brings a discussion on institutional care and education for children under three into the professional discourse. In the introduction, the authors introduce the historical context of care for children under the age of three in the Czech Republic and compare it with the situation elsewhere in the European Union. Th e core of the article was mothers’ viewpoint on facilities for children under three in the Czech Republic. A qualitative probe answers the question, “How do mothers perceive facilities for children under three years of age?” In-depth interviews revealed that the mothers who were addressed have a wide range of motives for deciding to place a child under three years of age in institutional care. Ultimately, however, they seek to satisfy the needs of their child. Th e situation of the sample that was monitored is in many respects comparable to foreign studies, even though the Czech situation regarding these services has specifi c features because of its historical development.


INTRODUCTION
Discussions on the quality of preschool education and the involvement of children under the age of three in this system are currently increasing. On the international scene, it is usually referred to as early education and care, meaning education and care for children from birth until their entry to compulsory primary education. Th e Czech Republic has its own specifi c history in this respect, as the beginnings of care for children under the age of three in this country date back to the end of the 19 th century. In the second half of the 20th century, the services offered to these children fl ourished, as the Czech Republic had an extensive network of kindergartens subsidized by the state budget and a curriculum elaborated in detail for children from birth until entry into primary education. After the revolution within the education reform, the care of children under three was pushed into the private sphere, and in recent years it has been diffi cult to build a new system of services that would match European standards in terms of its quality.
At present, there are about one hundred and forty thousand children under the age of three in Czech kindergartens and another eighteen thousand children are in private facilities in informal care (MLSA, 2019). At present, there are approximately 900 children's groups in the Czech Republic caring for 11,800 children aged between one and six (MLSA, 2019). Most of these children's groups have appeared in the last three years and are funded by maternal allowances and European Union grants, which will end in 2023. Th e Ministry of Labour and Social Aff airs is preparing a bill on setting a maximum maternal allowance and state subsidies for these facilities, which would, for the fi rst time since 1989, introduce direct state involvement in the care of children under the age of three.
Th e current situation regarding the care of children under the age of three became the main topic for the project Education and Early Childhood Care in Childcare Institutions in the Czech Republic (TL02000306), the aim of which was to map and document the experiences of key actors in various care facilities for children under the age of three (children, mothers, employees, management). Within the project, this research study came about, the aim of which is fi nd out more about the situation with regard to care for children under the age of three within the context of the international concept of early childhood education and care from the point of view of some of the most important actors -the parents, or rather mothers.

FOR CHILDREN UNDER THREE YEARS OF AGE
At the beginning of the 21 st century in the developed countries of the world, in the context of the growing employment of women, caring for the youngest children is a society-wide issue. Th ese days, in the debate on whether to support family care for young children or to support participation in institutional care, the balance has clearly tipped towards providing support for institutional care. Th is view is based on many studies that show that early care brings great benefi ts, especially for at-risk children and the socially disadvantaged. Some studies show that the combination of the length of time a child attends a preschool facility (ideally from two years) and the high quality of a facility brings about the greatest eff ects of pre-school education at both the cognitive and socio-emotional levels (e.g. Sammons et al., 2008aSammons et al., , 2008b. Since 2013, the EU's goal has been to provide quality institutional care for 33% of the population under the age of three by 2030(European Commission, 2013. Th is objective has already been met, for example, in Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom (European Commission, 2016, p. 7). In contrast, countries such as the within the International Context Czech Republic, Ireland, and Poland have almost no publicly funded services for children under the age of three. Th ese countries are among the countries with extremely low use of these services. Currently, there is only one European country -Latvia -which guarantees free public education for every child from the age of one and a half. In the remaining countries, most mothers have to pay for ECEC (Early Childhood Education and Care) services. Th e average monthly fees are highest in Ireland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland.
"In order to establish a shared understanding of what this means, the Council adopted a Recommendation on High-Quality Early Childhood Education and Care Systems in May 2019 (European Commission, 2019, p. 9). 1 Quality is monitored across European countries in fi ve basic areas: governance, access, staff , and educational guidelines, as well as evaluation and monitoring (European Commission, 2019, p. 9). If the ECEC agenda is ensured by one ministry (e.g. the Nordic and Baltic countries, Ireland, Spain, Luxembourg, Malta, England, and Scotland) the quality is higher, as the main goals and principles, educational/pedagogical approaches, development and educational goals, areas of learning, content or materials, and assessment methods in the form of a state curriculum for the whole preschool period are clearly set out (European Commission, 2019, p. 96).
In addition to quality, the EU strives for member states to create integrated systems providing care and education for children from birth to primary education. Research shows that these systems provide children with better support for their holistic development (Kaga, Bennett, & Moss, 2010). Th ere is currently an integrated system in the Nordic countries (except Denmark), Latvia, and Slovenia. Th e second model, which is more widespread in Europe, is a diff erentiated system, where the services are divided up according to the age of the children (usually for children under the age of three and for children between the ages of three and six). Th e provision of services for these two age categories may fall within the competences of diff erent ministries. In several countries (Denmark, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, and Lithuania), both models exist simultaneously.
In the Czech Republic, there is a signifi cant diff erence between children's groups (under the Ministry of Social Affairs), facilities under the Trade Licensing Act (under the Ministry of Trade and Industry), and kindergartens (under the Ministry of Education). Th is diff erence is clearly refl ected in the concept of the children's group, which sets out the care function of the facility, the number of children per carer, and hygiene standards. Th e state-given and controlled Framework Educational Programme for Preschool Education (2018) sets out the main goals and principles, educational/ pedagogical approaches, development and educational goals, areas of learning, contents, and methods of assessment and evaluation.
One of the important quality criteria is the education of teachers or caregivers. Only one-third of European education systems require a Bachelor's degree or a higher qualifi cation for working with children under the age of three (e.g. a Bachelor's degree in Bulgaria, Germany, Estonia, Greece, France, Croatia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Slovenia, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Norway, a Master's degree in Portugal and Iceland) (European Commission, 2019, p. 71). In the Czech Republic, a basic level of education and completion of a course for carers for children until the beginning of compulsory school attendance is suffi cient for caregivers working in children's groups.
Partnership with mothers is another of the important quality criteria (e.g. Sylva et al., 2004;Yoshikawa et al., 2013). Family support is essential if optimal conditions for children's learning and development are to be provided. Th e EU is therefore addressing the role of mothers in managing and evaluating the environment, as well as the support they receive when their children are in ECEC (European Commission, 2019, p. 25). Cooperation with the family is also part of the Czech concept of children's groups and one of the important areas of self-evaluation of kindergartens.

YEARS OF AGE
Th e availability and quality of childcare facilities for children under the age of three depends on the pro-family policy of each country. Using them then infl uences parents' attitudes towards this care and their return to the labour market. Th ese attitudes are partly infl uenced by pro-family politics and are based on the economic situation of families, and the individual moral and ethical strategies of the family also have a signifi cant infl uence. Th ese strategies are often irrational, negotiated within families so as to be morally appropriate for maternal attitudes in combining parental and formal care and the economic situation of the family (see Duncan et al., 2004;Höhne & Kuchařová, 2016;Kuchařová & Nešporová, 2019). Gender culture and gender order have a signifi cant infl uence on these strategies and on the social patterns of diff erent social classes (where the education of the mother plays an important role) (cf. Del Boca, Pasqua, & Pronzato, 2006, Hoem, 2005Kameraman et al., 2003;Kucharova & Nesporova, 2019;Neyer, 2003), and of diff erent ethnic groups (cf. Duncan et al., 2004;Höhne & Kuchařová, 2016).
According to research (e.g. Del Boca et al., 2006, p. 12) aff ordable day care for young children has a positive eff ect on women's participation in the labour market, although this depends on their education (it is especially true for more educated women). A study in the Czech Republic (Kuchařová et al., 2006a(Kuchařová et al., , 2006b(Kuchařová et al., , 2009 found similar results, stating that women with higher education use day care services more.
Th e diff erences in the attitudes of families in European Union countries are most aff ected by the length of maternity leave. Most countries support mothers returning to work as soon as possible (e.g. 1.8 months in Germany, Austria, and France; within 12 months in Poland and the United Kingdom) (European Commission, 2015). Th is situation is diff erent in the Czech Republic. Th e length of maternity leave in the Czech Republic is one of the longest in the European Union. Mothers can choose to receive a maternal allowance for up to four years (Hašková, Mudrák, & Saxonberg 2012;Kuchařová et al., 2009;Saxonberg, 2014). In Czech families with young children, the prevailing view is that children need to be provided with adequate home care and that young children suff er if their mother is employed (people with the lowest levels of education are more often in favour of this view) (Duncan et al., 2004;Höhne & Kuchařová, 2016;Kampichler, Dvořáčková, & Jarkovská, 2018;Kuchařová et al., 2006aKuchařová et al., , 2010. Assistance from grandmothers is often chosen as one of the fi rst care options for young children (Gray, 2005;Hamplová, 2014). However, with increasing life expectancy, fewer children in families, and the promotion of an active old age, this indicator is also changing and being replaced by informal care provided by acquaintances or friends (e.g. in post-Communist countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, or Poland, but also the United Kingdom, Slovenia, and Italy) (Hašková & Uhde, 2019, pp. 477, 492).
However, when parents decide to use an ECEC facility, they mainly pay attention to the following factors: opening hours, child-to-teacher ratio, accreditation, programme and environmental equipment, and child-centred factors (e.g. a programme adapted to the child's abilities, providing freedom to explore, and encouraging curiosity and choice) (Gamble, Ewing, & Wilhelm, 2009, p. 79).
Another global phenomenon is parents' attitudes towards private and public institutions, which is linked to the problem of the reproduction of social inequalities, which the EU wants to combat. Unfortunately, the set-up of education systems and national policy measures help to reproduce these inequalities. It can be seen that mothers who put children in prestigious private kindergartens associate private educational institutions with an amplitude of resources and knowledge, while public institutions are perceived as places with shortcomings (Kampichler et al., 2018). Th e extent to which these maternal assessments are objective is often discussed as a risk of studies (e.g. Gamble et al., 2009).

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Th is research study is of a qualitative nature and maps the situation of maternal views on care facilities for children under three years of age in the context of two large cities (Brno, Ostrava) with a highly diversifi ed range of early care and educational facilities. Th e research question was the following: "How do mothers perceive facilities for children under three years of age?" Th is research question was further specifi ed in the partial research questions: (1) What are mothers' beliefs about facilities for children under three years of age? (2) What are mothers' expectations of these facilities? (3) What are mothers' reasons for searching for these facilities? (4) What is mothers' experience with these facilities?
In the fi rst step, facilities providing care for children under three years of age were addressed so as to represent all the types of institutions that can be established in the Czech Republic under various ministries (children's groups, childcare under the Trade Licensing Act, kindergartens established under the Education Act). Th e selection of specifi c facilities was based on previous contacts with their management.
To understand the broader context, we attach the characteristics of the facilities (see Table 1), as in several respects they exceed the standards set by the state (e.g. in the education of their teachers).
In the second step, interviews were conducted with head teachers and teachers. We received recommendations for mothers from them. Th e research sample consisted of mothers with diff erent experiences with early care and education and diff erent levels of education from three diff erent facilities: in Ostrava a children's group established at a kindergarten (funding body the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Labour and Social Aff airs) (mothers 1-6), in Brno a children's centre established as a business for short-term care (funding body the Ministry of Social Aff airs) (mothers 7-9), and a children's group established as a private non-profi t organization in Brno (funding body the Ministry of Industry and Trade) (mothers 10-12) (see Table 2). Th e method of semi-structured interviews was chosen for the data collection. Th e interviews lasted for 30-60 minutes. Th e interviews were transcribed and coded using the open coding method (Denzin & Lincoln, 2008) in the Atlas.ti program. To increase the validity, the categorical system was verifi ed by two researchers on 20% of the data obtained. After the disputed cases had been discussed and 86% agreement reached, the categorical system was modifi ed. Th e categories (Table 3) are not disjunct, as the mothers had the opportunity to express themselves freely on some issues, which provided a more comprehensive view of the issues being examined. During the analysis, units of thought were identifi ed, i.e. those parts of the texts that expressed one consistent and clearly defi nable idea. We call these quotations (442), which were subsequently divided into 13 categories (Table 3).

RESULTS
We structure the results of the analysis on the basis of the partial research questions: (1) What are the beliefs of the mothers about services for children under three years of age? (2) What are the mothers' expectations of these facilities? (3) What are the mothers' reasons for searching for these facilities? (4) What are the mothers' experiences with the facilities?

Beliefs of mothers
Th e mothers' beliefs about the facilities for children under the age of three contain three subcategories: economic beliefs, beliefs about the child, and socially infl uenced beliefs, which are often associated with diff erent stereotypes or infl uenced by the respondents' environment.
Th e statements identifi ed in the subcategory economic beliefs concerned dissatisfaction with the amount of state financial support during maternity leave and were expressed mainly by respondents with secondary education: If you have maternity leave for three and a half years, then sorry, but if you have a mortgage and loads of other things, you basically get nothing, or for those four years, to get 3400 Czech crowns, who can live on that? (mother 1) Some statements pointed to the possibility of choosing short-term jobs or an earlier return to work. We noted these statements among mothers with higher education: I got a job off er to teach here as an external teacher and because my husband works here. I was on maternity leave, but I wanted to try it… Now I have to say in retrospect that it's good. Th at the child... if it is not eight hours every day, he gradually gets used to it (mother 8).

Reasons for choice
Personal reasons for using the facility Statements related to the personal reasons of mothers for using these facilities.
I thought we could both have a rest.

Work duties
Statements related to the working reasons of mothers for the use of these facilities.
… To adapt slowly so that it is not so stressful; when I go back to work, you will have to be in kindergarten all day.
Needs and characteristics of the child Statements associated with the reasons for the child's attendance at the facility and the child's needs and individual characteristics.
… To be in a group with children, so as not to grow up only among adults.

Adaptive reactions of the child
Statements related to the experience with the adaptation of the respondents' children.
From the beginning, he always cried from the start, always in the morning.

Benefi ts of attendance
Statements showing the benefi ts of the child attending the facility.
Th en I saw that when I met my friends, he played with their children more; he used to be glued to me and would just sit on my lap.

Characteristics of a teacher
Statements related to the experiences of mothers and the characteristics of teachers and their actions and behaviour.
Don't cry, Lukáš, mummy is coming. Th ey stroked him, they gave him a motorcycle, they really looked after him well. We also saw a belief that returning to part-time work may not pay off for mothers: Th at's why I'm not at work, because it's not worth it if you want to go to work and have a second child and I would just have a quarter of a salary, and if someone is in work, their maternity leave is calculated from that small salary. So it's easier for me to be at home and basically take care of the household. (mother 2) Some of the statements concerned the fi nances associated with placing a child in institutions for children under the age of three: I think everyone should receive some fi nancial support, but some people are at home with their children and they have the same opportunity to put their children into kindergarten as we do. Of course, when it costs a thousand, or three thousand, or fi ve thousand, it depends on your salary and how you decide for yourself. (mother 2) Th ese statements were also connected with the idea of the state fi nancing families with small children. Th is means supporting the families of children under the age of three fi nancially, regardless of whether the mothers are employed or not and whether or not they use childcare facilities for children under the age of three. As for the fi nances associated with the use of these facilities, none of the mothers questioned the need to pay for these services. We noticed a diff erence in the question regarding how much the fees should be. Mothers from a smaller city said that 2-5 thousand would be acceptable, whereas in a larger city mothers would be willing to pay 6-8 thousand a month: I have no problem with that. I understand that private children's groups are not state institutions and I perceive the fees as the price to pay for an individual approach. (mother 11) Another subcategory was the belief in the ability of a child to attend institutions for children under three years of age. Opinions often diff ered on the appropriate age at which to enter these facilities, but also on the number of days spent in them: It depends on each child and their needs. If the mother perceives that the child is not ready for kindergarten, he or she should stay at home. Mothers know the child best. (mother 10) Th e third subcategory points to the infl uences of the environment (society, family, acquaintances, experts, reading articles). Th ese beliefs relate in particular to the decision on whether to entrust the child to institutional care. Th e most common reason is the mother's right to continue working, but on the other hand, there were also statements related to a warning that institutional care is harmful to children and that it is healthy for the child to grow up in the care of the mother. Sometimes there were expressive opinions saying that a mother who entrusts her child to an institution is a bad mother: My mother-in-law always tells me that in their time, she had to put my husband in kindergarten from a very young age. And I should never make such a mistake; she didn't have time to enjoy being with her child at all (mother 2). Well, I was scared, as I didn't know; I read some articles about the fact that it could have some consequences for the child, that there could be some trauma. (mother 8) Some also expressed the opinion that it was good for a child to meet peers: As young people, not my category at all, they just appreciated it, so it's great to put a child in kindergarten. (mother 5) I asked the psychologist what she thought about it and said that once a week it was okay for such a small child, the four hours she was there for, that it couldn't hurt. (mother 7)

Expectations of mothers
Four subcategories were identifi ed in the category of maternal expectations. Th e mothers most often mentioned the ease of access of the facility, the funding body of the facility, the quality of the facility, and negative expectations.
Th e ease of access of the facility was mentioned by mothers in relation to the family members who would most often take the child to the facility or pick the child up: Th e fact that Grandma lives close to the facility, about ten minutes on foot. (mother 6) … excellent kindergarten, and it's really close to our house. (mother 2) Th e second subcategory, the funding body of the facility, shows two opposing tendencies of mothers: trust or distrust in state institutions. Some mothers said that they prefer state facilities, while some said they were in favour of private facilities: Well, we also considered a private one, but we didn't think about it that much, because they chose us right away, so I would have thought about it if they hadn't. (Mother 6) Th ose who considered private facilities expected that teachers would have a more respectful approach towards children: I knew right away that I did not want my daughter to go to a state kindergarten. (mother 11) Th e third subcategory linked the expectations of the mothers with the schools' positive characteristics. Most often, the mothers mentioned the individual and kind approach of the teachers, the smaller number of children in the class, and the ratio of children to teachers: Well, we especially liked the fact that in addition to the teachers, there are also the caregivers, that there are more of them per child, and the smaller number of children in each class, and then we liked the environment, the classroom… (mother 5) Furthermore, the mothers mentioned that they expected better equipment and a full programme for children: Maybe once a month they had a white day and a red day… (mother 6). Th ere were also expectations associated with informing mothers through websites or a bulletin board.
Th e last subcategory describes the negative expectations of the mothers, which we can also call concerns. Th e fi rst is the fear of trauma which might arise from the child's early entry into the institution, from being looked after by someone other than the mother: When my daughter was crying so much, I was afraid that she would have some trauma. (Mother 9) Another concern that mothers often expressed was children often being ill within a group: Th at's right, someone in the group just sneezes, and the child catches something. (mother 2)

Reasons for a child starting at a facility
Th e category of reasons for the child's entry into a facility for children under three years of age is characterized by three subcategories: personal reasons, job opportunities, and the needs and characteristics of the child.
Some of the personal reasons why families look for these facilities include, for example, the mothers' need to focus more on the household, caring for another child, or the need to rest more: I can tidy up at home and so it was also for my personal reasons. (mother 5) Probably when my son was born, when he was half a year old, we thought that she was missing being with children, as we only went out with her a bit and it was like we stopped paying attention to her so much as she was the older one. (mother 4) In other cases, the mothers' decision to have a child aff ects the mother's job opportunities: It was purely because of work, because I was actually employed, I have some projects here, and I don't really have a babysitter, not even a granny. So actually mainly so I can go to the offi ce here for at least two or three hours. So purely work reasons. (mother 9) For mothers with secondary education, one of the reasons for placing a child in a facility was preparation/adaptation for the mother's return to full-time employment. At the same time, these mothers expected complications in adaptation, so by placing the child in the facility sooner they were giving some time for them to get used to the facility and have the opportunity to deal with diffi culties with adapta-tion in advance: … To adapt slowly so that it is not so stressful; when I go back to work, you will have to be in kindergarten all day… (mother 3) Th e last subcategory of reasons for a child's entry into a facility for children under three years of age is the child's needs and individual characteristics. Th e mothers often described the need for children to have a varied and appropriate programme. Th ey also expressed their own limits, which do not allow for children's all-round development (e.g. cutting things out of paper with scissors) because of fear for their safety. Th ey also mentioned the need for social contact with children of the same age. Other reasons were also excessive fi xation of the child on the mother, the child's fear of interactions with children of the same age, hyperactive behaviour on the part of the child, and physical limitations. Th e vast majority of the mothers assumed that institutional facilities would help their children overcome or deal with these individual characteristics: We chose this because my son was overly attached to me and he was quite often ill and the doctor recommended, if we wanted to put him in kindergarten, to let him get away from me a bit, because he was so scared, he was terribly afraid of people; he was always just stuck to me, so that's why she recommended it. (mother 6)

Mothers' experience
Th e category of maternal experience is characterized by three subcategories: reaction to the child's adaptation, benefi ts of attendance, and teacher characteristics.
In terms of adaptation, all the mothers expressed previous experience with their children being looked after (by the child's father, grandmother, uncle or aunt, or an acquaintance), which, according to the mothers, had a positive eff ect on the child's entry into the institution. Th e adaptive response of children to attending a facility for children under the age of three was varied. In all facilities, the adaptation process was gradual. First the mothers came with the child, then the children came by themselves for one or two hours, then for the morning, and fi nally for the whole day. Th e children's reactions to adaptation were often characterized by crying, which lasted for a different length of time for each child (crying for one day to crying every morning for half a year): At fi rst he always cried right from the beginning, always in the morning. (mother 3) Sometimes the child cried during changes in activities (preparation for going out, coming in from outside, etc.): October was better; the teacher told me that he still cried, but just because they were supposed to go out and they had to get changed, because he liked an activity, and when he had to interrupt it, he wanted to play and he suddenly had to go out. But then he is already happy outside, and as they go inside again, he cries again; it's during those changes of state. (Mother 5) Most mothers described the adaptation as being over within two months.
Some mothers expressed their experience with children's empathy, i.e. the transferral of crying from one child to another. Th ey often realized that soon af-ter they left, the child would calm down. Th ey also reported the experience that some children cried even after their arrival: When I took her there she cried but she also cried when I came … She only cried for a while; when we left to get in the car, she was fi ne again, then she mostly fell asleep because I only took her there in the morning, I transferred her to her bed at home and she was fi ne. (mother 8) An important indicator of the course and management of adaptation is the child's behaviour, from the initial refusal to attend to looking forward to it: He usually didn't want to in the morning; he said he didn't want to go, so he was sometimes just silent and then of course it got better over time, then he took everything with him, he was already happy there. (mother 9) Th e benefi ts of the child's attendance were seen by mothers mainly in the socialization of children. At fi rst, the children built a relationship with the teacher, whom they often perceive as a surrogate caregiver: When I was walking by outside, I looked in to see how he was getting on, like everyone can say he's fi ne, but that's their opinion, and I saw him sitting by the teacher and she was really stroking him, the teachers are so wonderful. (mother 1) Another commonly mentioned benefi t is the establishment of a relationship with other children and also the development of children's play: Otherwise, such as for friends, she has already made some friends here; she talks about some of them. (mother 4) Th en I saw that when I met my friends, he played with their children more; he used to be glued to me and would just sit on my lap. (mother 5) A signifi cant benefi t of attendance was mentioned by mothers as children's skills being developed, such as speech, motor skills, independence in activities where they have to help themselves, hygiene habits being strengthened, and inspiration in playing: She is more open, there are more stimuli, she has a bigger vocabulary, she plays more games, more like, she is really interested when they have some activities in the kindergarten, I mean, for example, they had some hunters, so the whole family found out that in the forest when we come across a deer, we shouldn't pet it, and when we come across a fox, it might have rabies and an angry fox gets wound up. (mother 3) Th e last benefi t of the child's attendance at the facility to be mentioned is the adoption of the routine of the facility and a certain order. Mothers expressed the positive eff ects of this internalization of children on the stabilization of the family routine.
Th e last subcategory describing the mothers' experiences is the characteristics of the teacher. Th e communicative competencies of the teacher proved to be crucial. Mothers appreciate receiving feedback about the child and his or her behaviour in the facility. Often, this feedback was a signifi cant factor during adaptation. In the process of adaptation, the mothers accepted the teacher's guidance, her suggestions on how to continue, and her reassurance. Mothers often expressed their confusion about the child's crying and the diffi culty in dealing with the situation for themselves: Th ere was a turning point at the end of September, when the teacher said that we should leave him until twelve o'clock, that it was fi ne. (mother 2) Another characteristic of a teacher is the teacher's approach to the child: her sensitivity, individual and respectful approach, and knowledge of the child's interests. Th e mothers often mention the importance of hugging a child or off ering a toy s/he likes: Don't cry, Lukáš, mummy is coming. Th ey stroked him, they gave him a motorcycle, they really looked after him well. (mother 5)

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
In this text, we have focused on the views of mothers relating to the care and education of children under three years of age against the background of the international context. Despite its limitations because of the small sample, the study gave us at least a partial insight into the thinking of Czech mothers about the care of children under the age of three.
Although the Czech Republic is one of the countries with extremely low use of childcare services for children under three years of age, at least in large cities these services can be used by both mothers on maternity leave and employed mothers. However, in the sample that was examined we can see a predominant number of mothers with a university degree who use these services and who are also employed (which may also be a limitation of this study). Th ese fi ndings are in line with the fi ndings of e.g. Kuchařová et al. (2006aKuchařová et al. ( , 2009. Despite the availability of these facilities in larger cities, moth-ers point to some shortcomings of the system, especially the relative lack of opportunities for mothers to work part-time and the unfavourable calculation of state fi nancial support for a second maternity leave if they are working shorter hours. On the other hand, mothers appreciate the tax relief on the fees for these services. We noticed small diff erences in the statements of the respondents in the economic aspects regarding the use of childcare facilities for children under three years of age. Respondents with lower (secondary) education place greater demands on the state and its fi nancial interventions.
Th e mothers' expectations associated with the characteristics of the facility indicate an eff ort to create a good environment for the development of their children (fewer children per teacher, an individual approach by the teacher, and a good programme). Similar results were obtained by the study of Gamble, Erwing, and Wilhelm (2009), who found that the curriculum, daily routine, being childcentred, and the development of school readiness are important for mothers. Th e competence of the teacher in facilities for children under three years of age is one of the key elements of quality and it thus speaks for the requirement of having an appropriate qualifi cation, something which is currently unsatisfactory in the Czech Republic (Syslová, Borkovcová, & Průcha, 2014, p. 181). With regard to the requirements of the state, the teachers in the facilities that were examined had above-standard education and also, thanks to the fi nancial support provided by the EU, the teacher-to-child ratio was reported to fi t their requirements, i.e. it was lower than expected by the state.
Regarding mothers' choice from the point of view of the funding bodies of facilities for children under three years of age, in this respect, our respondents do not deviate in any way from the attitudes of mothers towards private and state facilities on an international scale. In our research, the mothers were divided into two groups, some leaning towards state care and, despite using private care, they move their children to state institutions as soon as possible, and the other group looking for alternatives and staying with them, despite the possibility of going to state institutions. On the one hand, the role of mothers' education plays a role here, as it aff ects their economic status, and at the same time it reveals the mothers' expectations that private facilities will have a better approach and better facilities than state institutions. Similar conclusions are drawn from the studies of Gamble, Ewing, and Wilhelm (2009) or Kampichler, Dvořáčková, and Jarkovská (2018). However, this phenomenon is alarming precisely because of the reproduction of social inequalities, as there is a greater opportunity for mothers with a higher social status to have their children segregated in certain institutions. Th e need and urgency of ensuring the quality of these facilities (e.g. by ensuring a national programme for the whole spectrum of ECEC with clearly defi ned quality criteria) and their availability to the whole spectrum of society is increasing.
Our study shows that mothers who have opted for institutional care for their children under the age of three are motivated by completely individual motives, which are usually not only related to economic reasons. A decisive element in their motivation appears to be the needs of the children, which correlates with the results of the Hoem study (2005, p. 570), where the perception of mothers about the quality of these facilities for children under three years of age and to what extent they meet their needs appears to be an important indicator.
Th ere are three groups of mothers, according to the data analysis, applying three diff erent strategies. Th e fi rst group of mothers is motivated to return to work early; they are university-educated women (three respondents) who work part-time one or two days a week. Th eir children are from one to two years of age. Th ese mothers expect from institutional care fi rst and foremost a quality caregiver who will take care of a smaller number of children. Th e second group is formed of mothers overburdened with care (mothers who state that they no longer have the capacity to create a programme and activities appropriate to the age of their children). Th ese are mothers with high school or university education (eight respondents). Th ese mothers use services for children from two to three years of age for several halfdays or whole days. Th e expectations these mothers have of institutional care are primarily a varied programme and then an open approach to the children on the part of the teacher. Th e third group consists of two respondents who are looking for these facilities because of the specifi c individual features of their children (e.g. a heart defect, excessive shyness). Th ese mothers use childcare services for children under three years of age. Th ese are mothers with high school or university education (two respondents). Th e period these services are used for is dictated by the specifi c characteristics of the child. Th ey expect a lower number of children in the class, a lower ratio of children per teacher, and a quality educational programme.
While we are trying to fi nd the answer to the main research question: How do mothers perceive facilities for children under three?, the research has shown a relatively positive perception of services for very young children. Th e experience of mothers across three diff erent facilities shows the positive characteristics of the female caregivers, especially in the fi eld of communication skills, which are very important professional skills for people caring for children under three years of age (cf. Grůzová & Syslová, 2015, pp. 54-57). Also, the benefi ts that the mothers talked about (the child's language development, motor skills, self-care, strengthening of hygiene habits, etc.) are similar to other research conclusions (e.g. Sammons et al., 2008aSammons et al., , 2008b. Th ese benefi ts are among the key expectations and reasons why mothers choose institutional care for children under three years of age, although in our research sample the primary choice was usually care provided by a close person (most often grandparents). However, care provided by a close person was perceived by the mothers rather as a pre-adaptation to separation from the mother and entry into institutional care, which is similar to the results obtained by the studies of Gray (2005) or Hamplová (2014).
At present, it is a minority group of mothers whose perception of institutional care for children under three years of age we have tried to map. Uncovering their experiences contributes to the discussion about the quality of these services in the Czech Republic. Mapping the views of mothers who do not use these services could contribute to a deeper understanding of public opinion on these services. It would also be interesting to follow the opinions of fathers or grandparents, who could bring another important perspec-tive to the view of institutional care for children under three years of age.
Th e Czech Republic is one of the countries with a lower quality of services for children under three years of age compared to other European Union countries (the diff erentiated system, the responsibilities of various ministries, the missing curriculum, the low demands on the qualifi cations of caregivers) (Neyer, 2003;Syslová et al., 2014). Th e fi ndings of this research, which show a link between teacher qualifi cations and the benefi ts of caring for children under the age of three, could also contribute to recommendations for policy decisions on the form and conditions of caring for these children.