They also regard using childcare as leaving children with 'a stranger', while using family members is 'the next best thing to being there myself.'
The Department for Children, Schools and Families, which commissioned the research, said the aim was to try to understand the language that parents from poorer backgrounds used around childcare provision so that the Government could communicate better with parents and increase the take-up of formal childcare.
It surveyed more than 100 parents who had an annual household income of less than £20,000 including benefits, and children aged between nine months and 11 years.
The report said, 'Childcare was contrary to the prevailing value system of this group, whereby they prioritised family relationships over work and money. Parents wanted to spend as much time as possible with their children and tended to see work as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself. They were very disapproving of "career" people who (they perceive) have children and pay someone else to bring them up.'
Trust was also seen as a key barrier to using formal childcare. Overall, Government-run nurseries, schools and school clubs were trusted the most, and childminders who were not known to the family were trusted the least.
The report also said the way in which educational benefits are expressed in publicity material highlighting 'goals' and 'targets' was 'alienating' to the families surveyed, 'who prefer to think of pre-schoolers learning at their own pace and in a fun way.'
Parents liked the idea of free early education for three-and four-year-olds, but many commented that a two-and-a-half hour session was not practical for mothers who wanted to work. The report said, 'We would suggest giving women the option of using the entitlement across two full days (rather than five days), as this would better suit mothers' working patterns.'
Sure Start is 'well regarded' but many parents see the centres as for 'underpriviliged', 'deprived' and 'problem' families.
The report concluded that the Government will need long-term investment in 'normalising childcare' for low income families to increase the take-up of formal care.
The research is linked to another report published at the same time, which looked at the barriers and motivations to using formal childcare among low-income groups.
Further information
'Promoting Take-Up of Formal Childcare Among Low-Income Families' and 'Understanding Attitudes to Childcare and Childcare Language Among Low Income Parents' are at www.dcsf.gov.uk/research.