CHILDREN: Inland families mirror a trend of fathers and grandparents helping to watch preschoolers.

BY JOHN WELSH
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE

Grandparents are still in vogue and fathers are pulling their weight, too.

Working moms with preschoolers are relying more on their parents and spouses to help provide day care, according to a U.S. Census Bureau study released Thursday.

Nearly 22 percent of working mothers surveyed in 1997 used an organized center for their primary child-care needs, but that figure appears to have dropped slightly since 1993. Dads came in at 19 percent as the primary child-care source, followed by grandma and grandpa.

The report, "Who's Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangments," is the Census Bureau's first analysis of child-care arrangements specifically targeting working mothers with preschoolers from 1985 through 1997.

Census officials noted the study isn't perfect. Changes in the survey design make comparisons difficult for recent years, and in 1995, the number of child-care response categories was expanded. Other differences that could have affected the numbers included comparing spring statistics with fall statistics for some years.

Still, the Census Bureau claims that after fathers, grandparents are the leading child-care providers for preschoolers -- and that doesn't surprise working mothers such as Deena Bennett, a Riverside County deputy district attorney who specializes in prosecuting cases against those accused of abusing children.

A sense of security

Bennett and her husband, a police officer, rely on Bennett's mother, Joy Robinson, to help care for their boys, ages 4 and 15 months. For a couple that sees a lot of strife, Bennett makes no apologies for trusting her parents.

"We don't trust anybody," said Bennett, 35. "I'm oversensitive, overcautious and overprotective. Parents provide a sense of comfort."

*snipping rest of article--no other mentions of contestant*

Published 8/2/2002