ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that transformations in Southeast Asian societies, and more particularly in the Southeast Asian household and family, can only be understood through the lens of economic change and the shaping forces of neoliberalism. Capitalist accumulation is dependent on patterns of labouring that require people to move and families and households to become divided over space. The layered transformation in the nature of the household in terms of its spatiality, constitution, and functioning, has tentatively suggested a characteristic temporal signature. The nature of migration where the elderly remain in rural areas creates a spatial care deficit. The chapter explores Pearson and Kuskabe's work to highlight one particular aspect of the new household and family in which migration, marriage, livelihoods and child-rearing have become ever more intimately interleaved. Migration impacts their emotional security and associated personal development in terms of behavior, personality, and education potential.
