'Comparative research on family policies has primarily focused on governmental activities for the family. Public expenditures and single governmental measures have been at the core of current discussion, with a specific focus on their impact on particular social situations of families as well as on particular family forms. Thus, most of the debate is state-centred, neglecting the role of collective actors in civil society, such as the Church, in providing family welfare. The aim of this paper is to study the division of labour between family, government and civil society on the one hand and its consequence for the division of labour within the family on the other hand in the field of child care. After presenting a short overview of the pres...