Juggling Acts: How parents working non-standard hours arrange care for their pre-school children

Juggling Acts: How parents working non-standard ho…
01 Sep 2008
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This study focused on how parents working outside the normal Monday to Friday, 8.00am to 5.00pm working week, manage the care of their pre-school-aged children.

Many parents are working long hours in paid and unpaid work and there are more mothers in the workforce than ever before.

Early childhood education (ECE) is a critical service for families with young children in New Zealand. The provision of quality ECE enables parents to participate in paid work and contributes to good outcomes for children.

The Families Commission interviewed 22 parents and three grandparents working non-standard hours in six different workplaces to find out about the childcare arrangements they made for their pre-school-aged children while they worked. As well as interviewing employers in seven workplaces to find out what they did to accommodate their employees’ childcare needs.

These parents used various types of care, including formal ECE services as well as informal care provided by family and friends. The support provided by the parent’s partner and by grandparents was crucial to keeping the parent’s non-standard work sustainable. Some children were spending long hours in ECE and some caregivers were working very long hours. These issues raise concerns and need further investigation.

 

Purpose

The objective of this study was to find out how parents who work non-standard hours (outside the ‘normal’ working hours of Monday to Friday, 8.00am to 5.00pm) made care arrangements for their pre-school-aged children.

Key Results

The following points summarise some of the key findings of this study and point to areas where further research could be undertaken.

  •  Having different care options is important. Parents make active choices and mixand-match care services to fit their individual circumstances.
  • Partners often work together as a team to make decisions about childcare for the overall benefit of their family.
  • The development of ECE services within neighbourhoods, close to the child’s home, should be encouraged. Further consideration should be given to the viability of locating ECE services as part of workplaces. 
  • Some pre-school-aged children are in ECE services for long hours and some caregivers are working long hours. The impact of this should be considered further.
  • Recognition should be given to the role that is played by grandparents in the care of pre-school-aged children.
  • Free ECE and financial support provided by the Government for working parents seemed to be easing pressures on the parents in this study.
  • The pressure to work (usually financial) significantly compromises some parents, who would rather be at home caring for their children. Nonetheless, the intrinsic value of working was also important to many parents in the study.
  • Employers should continue to be supported so they can offer flexibility to their employees with children.
  • The study did not include parents of pre-school-aged children who were unable to find a balance between their caregiving responsibilities and working non-standard hours. Further research could consider the barriers these parents faced.
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