ABSTRACT
The migration of parents to more-developed countries is often motivated by the prospect of securing a better future for their children at home. However, the physical distance between a parent and child necessitates a reordering of care arrangements and raises questions concerning the emotional impact of parental migration for left-behind children (D’Emilio et al. 2007; Mazzucato and Schans 2011; Whitehead and Hashim 2005). In particular, in Western societies, it is believed that intimacy between parents and their children can only be created through physical proximity and that physical separation interrupts healthy childhood development. However, in many societies, caregiving and parenting norms allow for a more flexible and inclusive notion of parenthood, with caring for a child being not only the responsibility of the biological parents but also that of the extended family network (see also Chapter 6, this volume). In such societies, physical separation between a parent and child is socially accepted and, at times, even favoured. We argue that the presence of such normative principles of parenting results from the circulation of care (Part A, this volume) for children amongst a wider network of actors than only the biological parents and that such principles, together with how care is enacted, will impact the way children perceive their transnational care arrangements.
