Paper short abstract:

Our paper is focused on the parental delegation of childcare/education of young children (0-4 years) to Childcare workers. We shall look at risk avoidance strategies involved in the delegation process and examine if and to what extend the CCW are constructed as experts.

Paper long abstract:

Our paper (focused on the French speaking part of Switzerland) refers to a submitted research project (which should start in April 2012) on parental delegation of early childcare/education (0-4 years) from young parents to childcare workers (CCWs)frequently of migrant origin. Based on an extensive pre-enquiry, it will take into account the contemporary representations and practices of parenthood and seek to evaluate the way parents combine the paid services provided by CCWs with others services offered by public structures or kin (especially) grand-parents.

Taking into account the literature referring to "intensive mothering" (Hays 1996) we will elaborate on parental strategies aimed at conforming to contemporary parental ideologies while delegating to others the care of their young children. We shall discuss if, and to what extend CCWs are constructed as experts, and what are the arguments parents and CCWs respectively use to do so; we shall be particularly vigilant on possible links between this expertise and personal experiences in childcare CCWs may have before entering the job (such as fosterage or infantile mothering). Our hypothesis is that recognition of CCW's expertise and devaluation of the job are simultaneously built by the protagonists; it will give us some interesting clues to understand how the tasks involved in intensive mothering or childcare and education are hierarchized. Finally, we shall take a closer look to the way parents ponder and face the risk they take in the delegation, especially in regard of their children's needs and capacities and their maternal/paternal roles.