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Mothers of babies looked after by childminders are happier about the care provided than those using other types of child care, suggest interim results from a new study.

When their children were three months old, mothers were asked what their ideal child care arrangements would be if money were no object. About half of the mothers wanted to care for their babies, while grandparents were top of the list of alternative carers.

Four per cent cited childminders as the ideal, while fathers were the least favoured option with 1 per cent. But when questioned again at 10 months, childminding was both the most used and the preferred option.