12. Not met demand is defined by the ABS (1992a:80) as 'children who have a requirement for
formal care including those who currently use formal care and require more and those w h o do
not use formal services, but require them'.
The main reasons for using child care identified by parents who used informal child
care arrangements concern the parents' personal activities (particularly parental
involvement in entertainment or social activities and shopping), which account for
45 per cent of children in informal care, and parents' work, looking for work or training
and studying for work which account for a further 44 per cent