De ouder kiest niet zozeer de gastouder als wel het kinderdagverblijf.

It means not so much ... as ....

So:

• niet zozeer de gastouder als wel het kinderdagverblijf = not so much the childminder as the daycare centre

Important nuance: this does not mean the first option is completely wrong or impossible. It means the speaker wants to shift the emphasis to the second option.

A close English equivalent is:

• The parent chooses not so much the childminder as the daycare centre.

This structure is a bit formal in both Dutch and English.

In this sentence, als wel is part of the fixed contrast pattern niet zozeer ... als wel ....

You should learn the whole expression as one unit:

• niet zozeer X als wel Y

It functions like:

• not so much X as Y
• rather Y than X (roughly, though not exactly the same in tone)

So here als wel is not being used in the basic everyday sense of as by itself. It is helping form a contrast.

Yes, but it is more common in:

• formal writing
• journalism
• academic or argumentative language
• careful spoken Dutch

It can sound a bit elevated or polished.

More everyday alternatives are:

• niet zozeer X, maar eerder Y
• eerder Y dan X

For example:

• De ouder kiest niet zozeer de gastouder, maar eerder het kinderdagverblijf.
• De ouder kiest eerder het kinderdagverblijf dan de gastouder.

These are similar, though the original sentence has a slightly more formal, rhetorical feel.

Here ouder is a noun meaning parent.

• de ouder = the parent
• ouders = parents

But ouder can also be the comparative form of the adjective oud:

• ouder = older

So the meaning depends on grammar:

• de ouder kiest ... → the parent chooses ...
  (ouder is a noun)
• het oudere kind → the older child
  (oudere is an adjective)

The article de makes it clear here that ouder is being used as a noun.

Not necessarily. Dutch often uses the singular definite noun to talk about a person in a general, representative sense.

So de ouder can mean:

• the parent in a general sense
• a typical parent
• parents, generally speaking

English can do something similar, though it often sounds more natural to use the plural:

• Parents choose not so much the childminder as the daycare centre.

Dutch is quite comfortable with this generic singular.

Gastouder is a specific Dutch childcare term. It usually refers to a childminder, often someone who looks after children in a home setting.

It is a compound word:

• gast = guest
• ouder = parent

But you should not translate it literally as guest parent. The real meaning is more like:

• childminder
• home-based childcare provider

In Dutch childcare vocabulary, gastouder and kinderdagverblijf are different types of childcare.

Kinderdagverblijf means daycare centre or day nursery.

It is a compound:

• kinder = children
• dag = day
• verblijf = stay / residence / place of staying

So literally it is something like children-day-stay, but the natural meaning is daycare centre.

Dutch makes very long compound nouns like this all the time, so this is a very useful word type to get used to.

This is because Dutch nouns have grammatical gender:

• de gastouder
• het kinderdagverblijf

For compound nouns, the article is determined by the last part of the compound.

So:

• gastouder ends in ouder → de ouder → therefore de gastouder
• kinderdagverblijf ends in verblijf → het verblijf → therefore het kinderdagverblijf

This is a very useful rule for Dutch compounds.

Because both are the things being chosen.

In Dutch, kiezen can take a direct object:

• Ik kies de blauwe. = I choose the blue one.

So in your sentence:

• de ouder = subject
• kiest = verb
• de gastouder = direct object in the first half of the contrast
• het kinderdagverblijf = direct object in the second half of the contrast

The structure is basically:

• The parent chooses not so much X as Y.

Dutch can also use kiezen voor:

• De ouder kiest voor het kinderdagverblijf.

That often sounds like opts for. But in your sentence, the direct-object version is perfectly possible.

The basic structure is:

• De ouder = subject
• kiest = finite verb
• niet zozeer ... als wel ... = contrast structure after the verb

So the sentence is:

• De ouder | kiest | niet zozeer de gastouder als wel het kinderdagverblijf

This follows normal Dutch main-clause word order, where the finite verb comes in the second position.

The contrast expression then connects the two noun phrases:

• niet zozeer de gastouder
• als wel het kinderdagverblijf

Zozeer is an adverb meaning something like so much or to such an extent.

In this sentence, it appears in the fixed expression:

• niet zozeer ... als wel ...

You do not need to analyse it every time word by word, but it helps to know that:

• zozeer strengthens the comparison
• niet zozeer X als wel Y literally suggests not so much X as rather Y

Also note that it is written as one word: zozeer.

Sometimes yes, but the tone changes.

Possible alternative:

• De ouder kiest niet zozeer de gastouder, maar het kinderdagverblijf.

This is understandable, but niet zozeer ... als wel ... is the more established and elegant pattern.

A more natural everyday rewrite would be:

• De ouder kiest niet zozeer de gastouder, maar eerder het kinderdagverblijf.

So:

• als wel = more formal, stylistically neat
• maar / maar eerder = more everyday

Yes, that is the basic idea. The sentence sets up a contrast between two possible focuses of choice:

• de gastouder
• het kinderdagverblijf

The point is that the real choice is presented as being more about the daycare centre than the childminder.

Because of niet zozeer ... als wel ..., the sentence is not just listing two options. It is saying:

• don’t focus on X; Y is the more important or accurate way to describe the choice

They might, but in casual speech many speakers would choose a simpler phrasing.

More conversational versions could be:

• De ouder kiest eerder voor het kinderdagverblijf dan voor de gastouder.
• De ouder kiest niet zozeer voor de gastouder, maar voor het kinderdagverblijf.

The original sentence sounds a bit more formal and written, but it is still good Dutch.

Not necessarily.

Your sentence without a comma is fine:

• De ouder kiest niet zozeer de gastouder als wel het kinderdagverblijf.

A comma can sometimes be added in longer or more rhetorical sentences to make the contrast clearer, but it is not required here.

So for learners, the safest point is:

• No comma is needed in this sentence.