Paper short abstract:

In this paper I discuss the negotiations involved in the arrangements of childcare for children under two years of age in Santiago. I focus on the interweaving of established ideas of motherhood, women in the workforce and local trends in intensive parenting promoted by public and private entities.

Paper long abstract:

In Chile, "child-centeredness" is not a novel trend compared to other ethnographic settings (e.g. Hoffman 2003 for USA), where motherhood remains the main source of women's fulfillment and meaning in life. In this context, wider trends in intensive parenting during early childhood, informed by theories of attachment or stimulation are welcome by most families. At the same time, a still small but increasing number of women return to work after maternity leave, confronting difficult decisions on child care. What are the underlying principles that illuminate deciding between either professional daycare, home care by kin or other child-minders? Why do many opt for leaving formal work after becoming mothers?

Following from my ethnography on early mothering in Chile today in this paper I discuss the negotiations involved in childcare arrangements for children under two years of age by a group of parents of different work and income situations, focusing on the contextualized interweaving of well established ideas of motherhood with the local trends in intensive parenting which are strongly promoted by public and private entities. The complex set of discourses and actors involved -including partners, extended family and experts such as policymakers, professional and non professional child minders and pediatricians- bring to light the specific assemblage of wider tendencies in parenting with rooted ideas and practices of the "good mother" for different socio-economic groups in the city. The existing contradictory discourses and judgment towards the maternal-self lead women to several pragmatic strategies for reducing their sense of guilt.