This investigation had the aim of gathering and analyzing the representations of workers in nurseries regarding childcare. The data was collected in three nurseries of a São Paulo, SP, Public University, through individual interviews and a pedagogical workshop. The results showed that the workers try to characterize their work as educational to make it more professional, placing the care as a support function. The Nursing contribution is discussed in the definition of a theoretical-conceptual body on the care of children in nurseries aiming for the necessary reach of the integration of the caring-for and educational functions inherent to these services.
Child day-care centers; Child care; Child rearing; Child welfare; Nursing care