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‘Quality Time’ in Nanny Families : Local Care Loops and New Inequalities in Sweden

Eldén, Sara LU and Anving, Terese LU (2022) In Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Family and Intimate Life p.85-107
Abstract
Political initiatives such as tax deductions for domestic services including nannies have, together with a growing au pair market, paved the way for new possibilities of organizing child care and parenting in Sweden. This affects everyday ‘local care loops’ for the upper-middle-class families purchasing the services, as the logistics of solving the work-family dilemma change with the possibility of hiring cheap female—and often migrant—care workers (Näre & Isaksen 2019). In this chapter, we analyse how this affects the doing of family in ‘nanny families’. Taking our point of departure in a qualitative study with nannies and au pairs (n = 26), parents (n = 29), and children receiving care (n = 19) (Eldén and Anving 2019), we show how... (More)
Political initiatives such as tax deductions for domestic services including nannies have, together with a growing au pair market, paved the way for new possibilities of organizing child care and parenting in Sweden. This affects everyday ‘local care loops’ for the upper-middle-class families purchasing the services, as the logistics of solving the work-family dilemma change with the possibility of hiring cheap female—and often migrant—care workers (Näre & Isaksen 2019). In this chapter, we analyse how this affects the doing of family in ‘nanny families’. Taking our point of departure in a qualitative study with nannies and au pairs (n = 26), parents (n = 29), and children receiving care (n = 19) (Eldén and Anving 2019), we show how everyday care is experienced and understood from the perspective of different actors involved in the practice, with a special focus on ideas of ‘quality time’. We argue that the new possibilities of organizing care and time in families reproduce inequalities: the new local care loops enable the possibility for some—well-off—parents to realize ideals of ‘good and stress-free parenting’, with quality time with their children, while at the same time not giving up on the idea of gender equality. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)

Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
domestic work, Child Care, Domestic workers, Parenting, children, quality time, au pairer, nannies/au pairs, Inequalities, family, Sweden
host publication
Care Loops and Mobilities in Nordic, Central, and Eastern European Welfare States
series title
Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Family and Intimate Life
editor
Näre, Lena and Widding Isaksen, Lise
pages
22 pages
publisher
Palgrave Macmillan
external identifiers
  • scopus:85126538923
ISSN
2731-6440
2731-6459
ISBN
978-3-030-92888-9
978-3-030-92889-6
DOI
10.1007/978-3-030-92889-6_5
project
Care for children in an era of private market services: A study of nannies, children and parents
Family, Migration and Welfare
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
7faf91e8-1fe8-468e-b7b4-f6a16e13c520
date added to LUP
2022-03-07 15:10:00
date last changed
2024-11-15 04:17:47
@inbook{7faf91e8-1fe8-468e-b7b4-f6a16e13c520,
  abstract     = {{Political initiatives such as tax deductions for domestic services including nannies have, together with a growing au pair market, paved the way for new possibilities of organizing child care and parenting in Sweden. This affects everyday ‘local care loops’ for the upper-middle-class families purchasing the services, as the logistics of solving the work-family dilemma change with the possibility of hiring cheap female—and often migrant—care workers (Näre & Isaksen 2019). In this chapter, we analyse how this affects the doing of family in ‘nanny families’. Taking our point of departure in a qualitative study with nannies and au pairs (n = 26), parents (n = 29), and children receiving care (n = 19) (Eldén and Anving 2019), we show how everyday care is experienced and understood from the perspective of different actors involved in the practice, with a special focus on ideas of ‘quality time’. We argue that the new possibilities of organizing care and time in families reproduce inequalities: the new local care loops enable the possibility for some—well-off—parents to realize ideals of ‘good and stress-free parenting’, with quality time with their children, while at the same time not giving up on the idea of gender equality.}},
  author       = {{Eldén, Sara and Anving, Terese}},
  booktitle    = {{Care Loops and Mobilities in Nordic, Central, and Eastern European Welfare States}},
  editor       = {{Näre, Lena and Widding Isaksen, Lise}},
  isbn         = {{978-3-030-92888-9}},
  issn         = {{2731-6440}},
  keywords     = {{domestic work; Child Care; Domestic workers; Parenting; children; quality time; au pairer; nannies/au pairs; Inequalities; family; Sweden}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  pages        = {{85--107}},
  publisher    = {{Palgrave Macmillan}},
  series       = {{Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Family and Intimate Life}},
  title        = {{‘Quality Time’ in Nanny Families : Local Care Loops and New Inequalities in Sweden}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92889-6_5}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/978-3-030-92889-6_5}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}