In Iceland at least being a leikskoli teacher requires a degree and they are far from child storage. They work and care for the childs development. This is at least a fairly common model in Nordic countries and presume its similar in a lot of Europe.
I've heard horror stories about featureless cinder block rooms as day care in the US though.
In UK (before state mandated ages, ie 4yo) the level of care can be pretty grim, and it's often low skilled young women ([1]) - particular if you're poor yourself.
[1] because for some reason minimum wage is reduced for younger people, like young people don't need housing or food, I don't know ...
Funny, I did the same thing. Describing the Icelandic preschool system is the best way I have to blow my UK friend's minds.
"No matter where you live, your child is in the catching area for a nearby preschool and is automatically enrolled there. And it's by no means a child storage facility; the primary focus is on teaching children through play and at least half the staff have a master's degree in preschool teaching. And they're fully fed. Also, it's practically free."
I've heard horror stories about featureless cinder block rooms as day care in the US though.