China's Left-Behind Children

Caretaking, Parenting, and Struggles

By Xiaojin Chen

SERIES: Rutgers Series in Childhood Studies

Rutgers University Press

One unintended consequence of the unprecedented rural-to-urban migration in China over the past three decades is the exponentially increased number of "left-behind" children—children whose parents migrated to more developed areas and who live with one parent or other extended family members. The daily lives of these children, including their caretaking arrangements, parent-child bonding and communication, and schooling, are fraught with distractions and uncertainties. Paying special attention to this marginalized group, this book investigates the role of parental migration and the left-behind status in shaping Chinese family dynamics and children’s general wellbeing, including their school performance, delinquency, resilience, feelings of ambiguous loss, and other psychological problems. Blending theory, empirical research, and real-world interviews with left-behind children, China's Left-Behind Children provides a uniquely close look at these children's lives while also providing the larger national context that defines and shapes their everyday lives.

Written with scientific rigor and personal relevance, this insightful book provides us a systematic view of the lives and living spaces of China’s left-behind children and their families. It diversifies and advances our understanding of family structure and parental care beyond the 'norms' of two-parent nuclear families. I recommend this book to all family scientists, practitioners, and policymakers. Tong Liu, co-director of Yale-China Program on Child Development at Yale University

Based on original survey data and interviews with rural migrant families, China’s Left-Behind Children provides new insights into the drivers and effects of different childcare arrangements and of long-distance parenting practices on children’s education, behaviour, emotional wellbeing, and ambiguous loss. This superb book appeals not only to scholars in China studies but also to sociologists of childhood, family, migration, and education who will appreciate the fresh take on topics such as digital communications, intimacy, grandparenting, school bonding, delinquency, and gender, and the author’s keen eye to global comparisons.'

Rachel Murphy, author of The Children of China’s Great Migration

XIAOJIN CHEN is an associate professor of sociology at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.

List of Illustrations ix
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Chapter 2: Who Leaves and Who Stays? Factors Associated with Parental Migration and Caretaking Arrangements 23
Chapter 3: Caretaking At-Home: Grandparenting and One-Parent Caretaking 47
Chapter 4: Parenting from Afar: Long-Distance Parenting and Short Visits 70
Chapter 5: “Have You Finished Your Homework?” Parental Migration, Caretaking Practices, and Children’s Schooling 96
Chapter 6: Are Left-Behind Children More Deviance- and Delinquency-Prone? 120
Chapter 7: Children’s Psychological Wellbeing: Caretaking Practices, Long-Distance Parenting, and Ambiguous Loss 142
Chapter 8: Conclusion 166
Acknowledgments 189
References 191
Index 203

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