Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services are expected to make an important contribution to the prevention of educational disadvantages stemming from social-ethnic factors. In the present study, three services are central: daycare centers, preschools, and special parent-child programs. Whether or not relations exist between the utilization of ECEC services and a number of the characteristics of the parent and the child is examined initially. Thereafter, the effects of such participation in ECEC services on the cognitive and non-cognitive competencies of the children involved are examined. The recent data from the Dutch cohort study Elementary Education involving a total of approximately 33,500 students from 600 elementary schools are analyzed. The results show significant relations between the utilization of ECEC services and such parent characteristics as education, ethnic origin and paid employment. With regard to the effects of participation in ECEC services, only very weak associations with the cognitive and non-cognitive competencies of the children are detected but they disappear when the relevant background characteristics of the parents are taken into consideration.