institution that provides supervision and care of infants and young children during the daytime, particularly so that their parents can hold jobs. Such institutions appeared in France about 1840, and the Societe des Creches was recognized by the French government in 1869. Day-care centres were established in most European cities and industrial centres during the second half of the 19th century; the first in Great Britain, for example, was established in 1860. In the United States, the terms day nursery, day- or child-care centre, and nursery school are often used interchangeably to identify various types of day care for children and for preschool educational programs