The chapter examines the development of publicly financed childcare (PFC) and cash for care in Finland, Norway, and Sweden, from the 1960s until today. These three countries show quite different development trajectories over time. In all three, but especially Finland and Sweden, women entered the labor market before the PFC services had developed and childcare was initially arranged privately. Informal family day care was eventally replaced by formal family day carers being employed by the municipality. This happened less in Norway, where women entered the labor market later. Preschool activity then expanded over time, first in Sweden and somewhat later in Finland and Norway. Over time preschools became the dominant form of childcare, but the prevalence of cash for care differentiates the situation in the three countries, especially regarding children's age at start of PFC. Today, Finland is the country where cash for care is still widely used and children start later in preschools. The chapter also describes the comparative cost and subsidized fees of PFC, when various parental groups got access to PFC, and indicators of quality in the three countries. The authors draw the conclusion that the motivation to expand PFC to facilitate women's work has today been replaced by a motivation centered around children's needs, a move in which informal caregivers have been replaced by educated preschool teachers.