Individuals can choose among different childcare arrangements by prioritizing different characteristics like quality, availability or affordability. A part from financial resources, individuals’ childcare perception also plays a role. Some couples, for instance, may prefer grandparental childcare because they find it more reliable, not only cheaper. Individual values jointly with budget constraints may reinforce or alleviate social inequality. In this article I investigate whether there is an educational gradient driving childcare choices and its association with risk of second birth. A good early childcare arrangement represents a key element for subsequent fertility transitions. It improves the perception of successful parenthood and eases reconciliation between career and family life. Using longitudinal data from the MCS (Millennium Cohort Study), I implement a logistic discrete-time hazard. I do find an educational gradient, high SES women show higher risk of second birth when informal childcare is mainly used, whereas the opposite holds for low SES.