About 150 families from London and Manchester were interviewed as part of the research, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, led by Professor Linda McDowell at University College London.
She said the study - Living and Labouring in London and Manchester: young adults' work/life choices - revealed an "incredible complexity" in the childcare arrangements that families made, with some using three or four types of care.
This was not adequately reflected in current policies such as the Government's 10-year strategy for childcare, said McDowell, who argued parents wanted greater flexibility in childcare provision and at work.
"Even when firms had very generous policies for things like parental leave people felt they couldn't take it as they feared their career would suffer, particularly men," she said.
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