Towards intensive parenting? Changes in the composition and determinants of mothers' and fathers' time with children 1992–2006

Contemporary expectations of good parenting hold that focused, intensive parental attention is essential to children's development. Parental input is viewed as a key determinant in children's social, psychological and educational outcomes, with the early years particularly crucial. However, increased rates of maternal employment mean that more parents are juggling work and family commitments and have less non‐work time available to devote to children. Yet studies find that parental childcare time has increased over recent decades. In this paper, we explore the detail of this trend using data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Time Use Survey (TUS), 1992 and 2006. To investigate whether discourses on intensive parenting are reflected in behaviour, we examine a greater range of parent–child activities than has been undertaken to date, looking at trends in active childcare time (disaggregated into talk‐based, physical and accompanying care activities); time in childcare as a secondary activity; time spent in the company of children in leisure activities; and time spent in the company of children in total. We also investigate whether the influence of factors known to predict parental time with children (gender, education, employment status and the age of children) have changed over time. We contextualize our analyses within social and economic trends in Australia and find a compositional change in parental time, with more active childcare occurring within less overall time, which suggests more intensive, child‐centred parenting. Fathers' parent–child time, particularly in physical care, increased more than mothers' (from a much lower base), and tertiary education no longer predicts significantly higher childcare time.     

Official conceptualizations of person-centered care: Which person counts?

Numerous studies have indicated that a “psycho-social” person-centered care approach, involving the delivery of a compassionate, respectful model of care, leads to a high quality of life, particularly for older people living in residential care. This has prompted policy-makers to endorse this approach. Yet, some commentators have argued that the model of person-centered care in official government policies equates to a “consumer-based” rather than a psycho-social approach, as it focuses solely on offering service-users more choice and on promoting independence. However, as such arguments are made in the absence of any empirical analysis, it is unclear both whether such a distinction exists in practice, and, if so, how this alternative model developed. This study explores the development of minimum standards for residential care settings for older people in Ireland in order to address this gap in our understanding of person-centered care. Findings confirm that a consumer-driven model of person-centered care underpins the Irish Standards; residential care is portrayed as a hotel-like service and residents as discerning consumers, which may be unsuitable for older people in residential care with limited capacity to make key choices. Analysis indicates that this model can be seen both as an extension of consumer-driven policies endorsed by many neo-liberal governments, and also of policy-makers' fears of losing their autonomy when they reach the “Fourth Age”. This study is particularly illuminating, given the similarities between the Irish care system with England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Australia.     

Children and young people as active agents in care-giving: Agency and constraint

This paper envisions children and young people who provide informal care to family members with illness or disability as active agents within the care relationship, whilst emphasising that this agency operates within constraints. These constraints include familial and kinship obligations, socio-economic and demographic circumstances and policy and service constraints. This paper examines the costs incurred and benefits conferred by young people who provide care. It presents the findings from an analysis of Australian national data on young people who provide informal care. It also presents some findings from focus groups conducted with young people involved in informal care-giving. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of the research.     

Changing practice cultures in statutory child protection: Practitioners' perspectives

Many child protection systems struggle to implement effective models of frontline practice in the context of high caseloads, increasing costs, and compliance‐focused bureaucratic cultures. This article discusses changes brought about by “Practice First,” a framework for practice introduced to improve the quality and effectiveness of child protection work in New South Wales, Australia. Findings drawn from quantitative and qualitative research with practitioners show that the initiative was effective in changing cultures of practice. It enabled workers to spend more face‐to‐face time with families and build relationships and was perceived to improve the quality of decision‐making. At the same time, the article highlights difficulties in attempting to embed change in practice cultures when broader systemic challenges persist.     

Negotiating independence,choice and autonomy: experiences of parents who coordinate personal assistance on behalf of their adult son or daughter

Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires states to provide personal assistance services. This article is based on qualitative research in Iceland, Norway and Sweden, carried out between 2012 and 2013. The overall study focused broadly on the implementation of Article 19. This article, however, reports findings based on a particular group of participants within the larger study: non-disabled parents who coordinate personal assistance schemes for their adult son or daughter. The article examines the various ways in which the parents, the majority of whom were mothers, negotiate principles of independence, choice and autonomy for their adult son or daughter who requires intensive support, including assistance with communicating. The aim is to explore, in the context of the Convention and the principles of the independent living movement, how to acknowledge and conceptualise personal assistance schemes that require another person to manage on behalf of the user.     

Towards Greater Recognition of the Right to Play: An Analysis of Article 31 of the UNCRC

Children’s right to play is formally enshrined in Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). However, few research studies have explored children’s experiences of play from an explicit rights‐based perspective. Using children’s views to illustrate the multi‐dimensional relationship Article 31 holds with other key children’s rights, this article shows how a rights‐based classification of play emphasises issues such as freedom, safety, choice and inclusion. The article highlights the fact that while Article 31 has provided an impetus for play policies throughout the UK, these have not been developed from an explicit rights‐based perspective. The article concludes by suggesting that the Committee on the Rights of the Child could take a greater lead on this issue through more robust monitoring and enforcement of Article 31.