Until their exclusion from the field of social welfare and integration with the kindergarten, together with which they represent the first step of the educational system, making it an educational institution, the crèches in our area had to go a long and not at all easy way. This path can be traced through the following three historical periods in the development of nurseries in Croatia: medical, study and modern period. Their forerunner is considered to be our first specific institution for preschool children, pjestovalište, opened in Zagreb in 1855. Such institutions were primarily open to poor and socially disadvantaged children, and their main role was to care for children's health and wellbeing. On the other hand, no attention was paid to the pedagogical aspect in the work field. With the Decree on crèches from 1947, they became social and health institutions for children up to the age of three and remained in the field of social welfare until the 1980s, after which, with the adoption of the new Education Act in 1980, they became an integral part of kindergartens. Preschool activities sought to be regulated by various normative and program documents. Their titles say a lot about the pedagogical understanding of the time they date from. A significant and large shift is visible in the programs of educational work, given that in the beginning they were strictly structured, in contrast to today's modern curriculum. In this paper the emphasis is placed on the mentioned development of crèches in Croatia, on the description and closer acquaintance with historical periods as well as on certain documents related to the regulation of kindergarten activities. All of the above will be systematically studied and analysed by documentary research based on various collected sources.