Labour would move away from the Tories "broken" childcare model rather than "tinkering" around the edges by expanding free hours, the party's education chief has said.
Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson blasted the Government for "failing families" with a chaotic childcare offer that prices parents out of the workplace.
She said it was time for a complete overhaul of the "complex and confused" system - and "bolting on" more hours would not fix issues of provision and cost.
Parents are forced to grapple with a mish-mash of provision, which includes 15 free hours of childcare in term time for all three and four-year-olds.
Children of working parents can get 30 hours per week if they meet eligibility rules, while some two year-olds qualify for 15 hours if their parents are
In a speech to the Onward thinktank in London, Ms Phillipson said: "Support for childcare is at once inadequate and delivered through too many systems: complex and confused.
"The cost of childcare is pricing parents out of jobs they love, when it is available at all."
She warned that the Government is underfunding early years providers to deliver the free hours policies - pushing many to brink of collapse and leaving parents facing "extortionate costs".
"It's not a market, it's a mess," she said.
"More “free hours” for parents, means more underfunded hours for nurseries, more costs piled on to providers struggling to deliver services as they are now, and more need for cross-subsidy.
"The model they have built fails everyone."
She said Labour was working on plans for a different model, which will support parents from the end of leave,
More detail expected in the coming months, with Ms Phillipson planning trips to Ireland and Singapore to learn about their childcare policies.
She signalled that Labour would not bring back Sure Start centres - a flagship New Labour policy - as improvement would not come from "simply winding back the clock".
She said the policy "transformed lives" but added: "The tragedy of Sure Start is that it wasn't change that we saw endure.
"I want to make sure when we have lasting change within our system, it stands the test of time, it can't simply be undone by governments that come in later down the line."
Ms Phillipson challenged the Tories to nick Labour's idea for free breakfast clubs in every primary school in England.
Asked what she'd liked to see in next week's Budget, she said: "They could follow our lead - end the non-dom tax status and make sure that we're delivering universal breakfast clubs across England. That would be really straightforward.
"The Chancellor could do that, if he wanted to to steal that policy I'd be absolutely delighted next week to stand and welcome that."
Drawing battle lines ahead of the next election, she said "family is the fight ahead" - and parked her tanks on the Tory party's lawn by saying Labour is now "the party of family".
The Houghton and Sunderland South MP spoke about growing up with a single mum - and how Tory ministers "went out of their way to attack us".
"My mother might have been short of money, but never of care or love," she said.
"What children need is a family. What government needs to do is ensure families have the chance to succeed and the time to thrive together.
"My childhood taught me that what matters about families is not the shape they are, or the size they have, but the love they give."
