when did daycare start

Daycare is a widely used service now in our modern time but when did it actually start? It may seem like it would have been quite a necessity even in earlier times but the facilities they have would not be as advanced as it is now. Daycares actually started outside the US and started within a public school setting in Paris around the 1840s. Daycares started as a necessity for mothers and disadvantaged immigrants that are in the workplace. Daycares were a form of assistance to them established in full-service houses that included resident quarters, dining halls, schools, library, and salons. There were also Shipyard daycares that were built by Kaiser Company for mothers that worked instead of their husbands who were off to fight the war. These daycares were established in the US as early as the 1850s.

Earlier daycare centers did not have all the equipment that we have now. They do not have a curriculum for children to follow and they did not have toys to entertain the children. It was in a much simpler time where children were given their basic needs; which included a hot meal and medicine if they are sick. Other than their basic needs, children will only be supervised but made to play by themselves or other children. They entertain themselves by looking out at shipyards, playing tag and learning simple indoor games to play with their peers. These centers were only built to make sure that the mothers did not skip on working and the daycares were eventually closed after the war.