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Nanny care in Sweden : Inequalities of everyday doings of care

Eldén, Sara LU and Anving, Terese LU (2018) Sociologidagarna
Abstract
A new actor has been (re)introduced into family practices in Sweden: the nanny. Previous ways of organizing care for children (mainly through publicly funded daycare) are today being complemented by a growing private market for childcare, often performed by migrant women. In our research project Care for children in an era of private market service we study the practice of doing care and family in families who hire nannies and au pairs. In this paper we analyze the small-scale everyday doings and negotiations of care by the involved parties (nannies/au pairs, parents and children). There is, we argue, a tension between the parents ‘orchestrating’ of the caring practice and their expectations on the character of the caring relationship... (More)
A new actor has been (re)introduced into family practices in Sweden: the nanny. Previous ways of organizing care for children (mainly through publicly funded daycare) are today being complemented by a growing private market for childcare, often performed by migrant women. In our research project Care for children in an era of private market service we study the practice of doing care and family in families who hire nannies and au pairs. In this paper we analyze the small-scale everyday doings and negotiations of care by the involved parties (nannies/au pairs, parents and children). There is, we argue, a tension between the parents ‘orchestrating’ of the caring practice and their expectations on the character of the caring relationship between the nanny and child, and the actual practice of care that the nanny and the child are engaged in, and the specific relationship that develops through this. Parents ‘orchestration’ further resonates with ‘intensive parenting’ ideals and present neoliberal discourses of families ‘right to choose’, something that the last decade’s political reforms has enabled, for those who can afford it. Thus, new forms of class, gender and ethnified inequalities are built into the very core of care practices, we argue. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
published
subject
conference name
Sociologidagarna
conference location
Lund, Sweden
conference dates
2018-03-09 - 2018-03-11
project
Care for children in an era of private market services: A study of nannies, children and parents
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
90eaf192-630f-4a76-a9a8-38772f73aef8
date added to LUP
2018-10-26 11:18:47
date last changed
2018-11-21 21:42:47
@misc{90eaf192-630f-4a76-a9a8-38772f73aef8,
  abstract     = {{A new actor has been (re)introduced into family practices in Sweden: the nanny. Previous ways of organizing care for children (mainly through publicly funded daycare) are today being complemented by a growing private market for childcare, often performed by migrant women. In our research project Care for children in an era of private market service we study the practice of doing care and family in families who hire nannies and au pairs. In this paper we analyze the small-scale everyday doings and negotiations of care by the involved parties (nannies/au pairs, parents and children). There is, we argue, a tension between the parents ‘orchestrating’ of the caring practice and their expectations on the character of the caring relationship between the nanny and child, and the actual practice of care that the nanny and the child are engaged in, and the specific relationship that develops through this. Parents ‘orchestration’ further resonates with ‘intensive parenting’ ideals and present neoliberal discourses of families ‘right to choose’, something that the last decade’s political reforms has enabled, for those who can afford it. Thus, new forms of class, gender and ethnified inequalities are built into the very core of care practices, we argue.}},
  author       = {{Eldén, Sara and Anving, Terese}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  title        = {{Nanny care in Sweden : Inequalities of everyday doings of care}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}