Child care has been developed primarily as a service to meet the needs of working parents. In this discussion of the role of child care services in supporting families in their rearing of children in contemporary Australia, the author argues that it is necessary to balance this perspective by thinking of child care as an investment in children and for children. The focus of child care should be on the creation of social environments and exchanges that secure the current happiness and well being of all children and nurture their developmental futures. The author examines the historical distinction in child care between an educational service for children in the immediate preschool years and a care service provided for infants and toddlers. He also discusses the nature of parenting and child rearing and policy implications of child care.