A number of faulty assumptions about women cloud the real issues facing families who need child care in the 1980s. Until we can isolate the child care issues and discard the emotional underpinnings of women's status, child care cannot become a recognized profession. The first section of this paper focuses on assumptions about women's roles. Problems specific to child care professionals are highlighted in the second section, and finally, in the third section, a point-by-point challenge is issued to individuals, groups, and networks concerned about the future of day care. (Author)