Using Kin for Child Care: Embedment in the Socioeconomic Networks of Extended Families

This exploratory analysis offers a new explanation of why African American and Mexican American mothers who are employed are more likely than Anglo American mothers to use childcare arrangements with relatives. In-depth interviews with 31 racially diverse employed mothers revealed race and ethnic differences in views of the appropriateness of using kin-based care. The analysis shows how decisions to use kin-based child care are shaped not by only the individual needs of the family that requires child care, but also by how families with young children are embedded in the socioeconomic networks of the extended family and take the economic needs of the members of their extended families into account when making childcare arrangements. Key Words: child care, extended family networks, familism, race, racial ethnic, relatives. Childcare arrangements are an essential element of parental employment. Patterns of usage of different types of childcare arrangements have changed significantly in the last 30 years. Particularly noticeable is the diminishing use of relatives as the most common source of child care. Since 1958, the percentage of child care arrangements with relatives both inside and outside the child's home made by employed mothers for their infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children has halved, from 42% to 21% of all childcare arrangements in 1990 (Hofferth, Brayfield, Deich, & Holcomb, 1991; Lajewski, 1959). The only type of relative care that has not declined in the last thirty years is care by fathers, which remains steady at I I%. In contrast, the use of family daycare homes and childcare centers has more than tripled, from 17% in 1958 to 59% in 1990 (Hofferth et al., 1991; Lajewski, 1959). Despite these trends, parents continue to express a strong preference for care by relatives, especially for their infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children. Yet the perception that relative care is an ideal substitute for parent care may exceed real preferences. Fewer parents actually use relative care than report a preference for it (Crispell, 1994). In a recent national childcare survey, half of those who actually use relative care report that it is not their first choice of type of care-the preference for relative care was surpassed by the preference for "quality" child care (Hofferth et al., 1991). Clearly, the actual use of relative care is based on a variety of reasons other than that the care is perceived as the ideal substitute for parent care. Descriptive studies of maternal and family characteristics associated with a greater likelihood of the use of relatives for child care have found that the use and preference for relative care is positively associated with the belief that parents should be caring for their own children (Hertz & Ferguson, 1996; Kuhlthau & Mason, 1996), the close proximity of relatives (Benin & Keith, 1995; Jayakody, Chatters, & Taylor, 1993; Kuhlthau & Mason, 1996; Lamphere, Zavella, Gonzales, with Evans, 1993; Parish, Hao, & Hogan, 1991; Roschelle, 1997b), lower family incomes (Crispell, 1994; Gerson, 1993; Hofferth et al., 1991; Kuhlthau & Mason, 1996; Leibowitz, Waite, & Witsberger, 1988; Stegelin & Frankel, 1993), lower maternal education (Folk, 1994; Hofferth et al., 1991), single parenthood (Folk, 1994; Oliker, 1995), families with younger children, especially under age two (Hofferth et al., 1991; Kuhlthau & Mason, 1996), and families with fewer children (Benin & Keith, 1995). Another common finding is that the rate of relative care is higher for Black and Hispanic families than for White families (Benin & Keith, 1995; Folk, 1994; Hofferth et al., 1991). However, it is unclear if this finding holds when the mother's employment status and the use of kin for regular, employment-related child care are controlled. Some studies find that employed mothers of color are more likely to use kin for child care than are White employed mothers (Folk, 1994; Keefe, 1996; Lamphere et al. …