This book is an exploration of parenthood. The overall aim is to study both the ideals and practices of parenthood without separating the two aspects. We do so in ten empirical chapters by analysing how good parenthood is done in ten different contexts, by different agents. Across these chapters, we will investigate the normative layers of parenthood in practice.
We have deliberately chosen to use the term parenthood, rather than parenting, as our focus is not only on practices; it is broader. Our theoretical point of departure is informed by David Morganâs concept of family practices and his ambition to move âaway from ideas of the family as relative static structures or sets of positions or statusesâ (Morgan 2011, 6; See also Cheal 2002). Parenthood, in a similar manner, is something that is done. We see it as a series of practices, as something that men, women and children do. This comprises much more than merely the child-rearing practices of parents. Parenthood, we argue, is also done when parents interact with others; for example, professionals like teachers or social workers, with other parents, including co-parents, or grandparents. When parents argue in favour of their strategies, when they negotiate with an ex-partner, when they conform to (or refuse) the demands placed upon them by schools, when they consume goods or choose destinations for family outings, parenthood is being done.
One component of parenthood is the parentâs desire to do a good job according to her/his own standards. In the doing of parenthood in front of an audience (Finch 2007) another component is at play: parentsâ desire to be recognised as good parents by others (Blackford 2004; Caputo 2007). In the doing of parenthood in a specific situation, norms are mobilised through parentsâ own views of what good parenthood is, what they believe are the parenthood norms of the audience and the audienceâs reactions to certain practices. The audience or co-actors such as other parents, children, professionals, politicians, experts and researchers for that matter, also do parenthood. This is an important part of the reasoning behind our choice to use this term rather than parenting.
What are the standards by which parenthood is evaluated? As the analysis will show, good parenthood is not fixed or stable; in practice, it is rather fluid and subject to negotiation. Not only is the meaning of the best interests of the child â often used as a benchmark for the evaluation of parenthood â ambiguous, but the best interests of the child are also not necessarily the only benchmark in play. The normative layers of parenthood are related to ideas about what constitutes a good childhood, family ideals, ideas about childrenâs development and needs, as well as goals regarding a nationâs public health, education and competitiveness.
When we explore how parenthood is done, we are also exploring how good parenthood is done. We study the contextual and situated practices through which the different actors â parents, children and others â do parenthood, and we also study the normative guidelines through which these practices become meaningful. Doing good parenthood refers to contextual and situated practices through which parents, children and others enact, negotiate and construct the good in good parenthood. Our interests thus include not only the meanings of good parenthood that float to the surface in these practices but also how the positioning of some parenting practices as good is achieved in and through such practices. Doing good parenthood, however, also refers to the doing of parenthood in relation to something that is predefined, or appears to be predefined, as good.
This book presents a broad set of empirically rich chapters to give the reader a detailed and deep understanding of what it means to do good parenthood. Across the chapters, we address the following questions: What does good parenthood come to mean in practice? By whom, where and through what practices is good parenthood defined? Who speaks on behalf of whom? What are the standards by which good parenthood is evaluated? Whose or what interests are emphasised? In all of these questions, the specific national and local contexts within which the practices that constitute the subjects of analyses are set are taken into consideration.
Denmark and Sweden as Political Context
The primary context for our empirical studies are the Danish and Swedish welfare societies. The structures constituted by family policies contribute to shaping the conditions for negotiations of good parenthood, but they are to some extent also the products of such negotiations. Both Denmark and Sweden represent a Scandinavian or universalistic welfare regime and a family policy that can be labelled pro-egalitarian, stressing gender equality and high rates of female employment (Esping-Andersen 1990, 1999). Both countries also have comparatively generous and flexible parental leave programmes, individual taxation of spouses and subsidised childcare (BĂ©land et al. 2014). High levels of employment for both mothers and fathers and high rates of child enrolment in out-of-family childcare naturally limit the amount of time that Danish and Swedish parents spend with their children. Interestingly, parental involvement is still seen as crucial to childrenâs development, and parents emphasise the value of spending quality time with their children, and preferably as a family, in both Denmark and Sweden. Using the term involved parenthood, Forsberg (2009) shows how Swedish parents strive to be involved in their childrenâs lives by spending time on as well as with their children (see also Wissö 2012). Similar ideals of parental involvement can be found in Denmark (Dannesboe et al. 2012).
The emphasis on gender equality is part of social and family policies which emphasise individual autonomy. This supports the individualisation and democratisation of family life and comes close to the notion of institutionalised individualism (Beck and Beck-Gernsheim 2002), which is supported by family policy traditions characterised by an individualised relationship between the state and its citizens (including children) rather than by institutional support for the family as a unit or entity. These policies and the individualisation of family life are manifested most clearly through the strong legislative focus on childrenâs rights. A prerequisite for this kind of individual autonomy has been a strong state, a high degree of trust in the institutions of the state and a relatively high level of acceptance of state intervention in the lives of families (Abrahamson 2010; Berggren and TrĂ€gĂ„rdh 2015; Wells and Bergnehr 2014).
However, in both countries, family policies have undergone notable changes during the last three decades. The early 1990s marked the beginning of an economic crisis that led to severe cut-backs in state-funded welfare provision, which coincided with a shift towards neoliberal rhetoric. The cuts were ideologically legitimised with the aid of such rhetoric, which emphasised freedom of choice, as opposed to the alleged demand for conformity of previous welfare service provision, and welcomed the introduction of private, market-based alternatives (Lundqvist 2011; GrumlĂžse 2014). Yet, the focus on formal employment for both women and men in Sweden and Denmark has entailed a continued expansion of universal childcare, which continues to distinguish them from countries with liberal welfare models.
Even though the institutional fabric of the Danish and Swedish welfare states share many constitutive elements, there are also differences between the two...