Current status of infant and toddler care, parenting stress, and childcare needs of working mothers: evidence from Anhui Province, China

This study surveyed 526 working mothers in Anhui Province, China, examining their childcare arrangements, parenting stress, and childcare needs for children aged 0–3 using a demographic questionnaire, a parenting stress scale, and a childcare needs scale. Results show that mothers spend more time on childcare than fathers, relying heavily on grandparents during work. Latent profile analysis and ANOVA tests revealed that 16.54% experienced high parenting stress, often associated with multiple/younger children, lower income, and non-parental care. Urban, highly educated mothers with high stress and no grandparental support preferred formal childcare services, favoring public, affordable, nearby institutions offering both care and education for children over age two. Highlighting childcare dynamics in rapidly urbanizing societies, this study recommends providing grandparents with caregiving guidance, promoting fathers’ involvement, implementing supportive workplace policies, and developing high-quality public childcare services. These findings provide a valuable reference for improving childcare policies across diverse socio-economic contexts.