On shifting ground: First-time parents’ ideal world of paid work and family time

ABSTRACT

We examined first-time fathers’ and mothers’ perspectives about their ideal world of support in the context of dominant social ideology, ethno-cultural ideals, and the pragmatics of their everyday family, workplace, and socioeconomic circumstances during their first 18 months as parents. Twelve Canadian-born and six Chinese immigrant couples participated in individual in-depth interviews. We conducted a three-part analysis: fathers’ perspectives, mothers’ perspectives, and couples’ perspectives. Fathers focused on fulfilling dual fathering ideals of ‘time with family’ and ‘providing for family’; mothers emphasized fulfilling a mothering ideal of ‘caring for children'. Examining couples’ perspectives revealed a more nuanced understanding of their shared focus on ‘caring for family'. Parents in this study found the current social ideal of the ‘new’ father, who is both financial provider and nurturing co-parent, appealing, yet difficult to achieve. Couples wanted informal (i.e. family and social network) support, along with formal (i.e. workplace and childcare) support to enable them to provide family care and financial stability for their family. Findings contribute to understanding family and paid work experiences and decision-making among couples as new parents. We offer insights into the complexity of intersections among social ideals, personal expectations, family care, and paid work for fathers and mothers.

RÉSUMÉ

Nous avons examiné les perspectives de nouveaux parents pour mieux comprendre leur vision du support idéal qu'ils aimeraient recevoir durant les 18 mois suivant la naissance de leur premier enfant. Nous avons tenu compte du contexte idéologique dominant, des idéaux ethno-culturels, et des demandes pragmatiques journalières au sein de la famille et du travail selon les conditions socioéconomiques des participants. Douze couples de parents Canadiens, et six couples de parents Chinois ayant immigré au Canada ont participé à des entrevues en profondeur. Au cours de notre analyse de ces entrevues, nous avons noté trois perspectives distinctes soient celles des pères, des mères, et des couples. Les pères de famille ont dit poursuivre les doubles exigences d'idéaux sociaux demandant qu'ils ‘dédient du temps à la famille’ et qu'ils ‘pourvoient aux besoins’ de leur famille. Les mamans ont mis l'emphase sur l'idéal maternel de repondre aux besoins de leurs enfants. Notre examen des perspectives offertes par les couples nous a révélé qu'ils partageaient une compréhension plus nuancée des idéaux sociaux et qu'ils concentraient plutôt sur une vision familiale des besoins et des soins requis. Les parents ont identifié que l'idéal définissant la responsabilité du ‘nouveau’ père de famille comme pourvoyeur financier et père engagé contribuant activement à l’épanouissment de ses enfants et de sa famille est attayant bien que difficile à rencontrer. Les couples ont donc souhaité recevoir du support informel (i.e. famille et cercle social) et formel (i.e. environnement de travail, système de garderie) pour leur permettre de répondre aux besoins de leur famille, et pour assurer la stabilité financière du foyer. Ces résultats contribuent à une compréhension accrue des dynamiques entre experiences familiales, travail rémunéré, et prise de décisions chez les couples devenus nouveaux parents. Nous ajoutons aussi aux connaissances traitant de la complexité des intersections entre idéaux sociaux, attentes personelles, besoins et soins requis au sein de la famille, et travail rémunéré qui affectent les pères et les mères.

KEYWORDS:

• Fatherhood
• motherhood
• first-time parents
• work-family
• gender
• qualitative research

MOTS-CLÉS:

• Paternité
• maternité
• nouveaux parents
• dynamique travail famille
• gendre
• recherche qualitative

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Kaysi Eastlick Kushner is Professor with the Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta. Her research program examines family health decision making about everyday challenges, including social support, within the social institutional contexts of managing paid, family, and community work. She has published articles in Journal of Family Theory and Review, Journal of Family Nursing, Health Care for Women International, and Advances in Nursing Science.

Nicolette Sopcak is a qualitative researcher in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Alberta. She earned her PhD in Human Ecology from the University of Alberta and, as part of her program, completed an internship with EQUIPP, under supervision of Kaysi Eastlick Kushner. Her research interests focus on fathers' experiences in family and social context.

Rhonda Breitkreuz is Associate Professor in Human Ecology with the Faculty of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta. Her research program focuses on gender, family, and policy studies, and her research interests include social policy related to the well-being of chidren and families. She has published articles in Community, Work and Family, Social Service Review, and Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare.

Nicole Pitre is Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta. Her research interests focus on the phenomenon of trust in diverse family circumstances, including trust in mothering among women who have experienced childhood interpersonal violence and trust among parents caring for children with chronic illness, as well as trust among parents in everyday family life. She has published articles in Family Theory & Review, Health Care for Women International, and Advances in Nursing Science.

Deanna Williamson is Associate Professor and Department Chair in Human Ecology with the Faculty of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta. Her research program examines family functioning in diverse circumstances, including poverty, in the broad context of social, economic, and political conditions. She has published articles in Marriage & Family Review, Qualitative Research, Critical Public Health, and Journal of Children and Poverty.

Gwen Rempel is Associate Professor and Program Director MHS/MN programs with the Faculty of Health Disciplines, Athabasca University. She also is Adjunct Associate Professor with the Faculty of Nursing and Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta. Her research program focuses on family resilience and family management of health conditions including parenting children with complex health issues. She has published articles in Journal of Advanced Nursing, Journal of Family Nursing, and Nursing Research & Practice.

Miriam Stewart is Professor with the Faculty of Nursing and School of Public Health, University of Alberta. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Academy of Social Sciences. Her research program examines social support and a complex of social determinants of health, emphasizing relevance to policies and programs for vulnerable populations including low-income and immigrant families. She has published extensively in books and articles in journals such as Social Science & Medicine, Journal of Poverty, and Health Care for Women International.

Nicole Letourneau is Professor with the Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary. She holds the Palix/Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation Research Chair in Parent-Infant Mental Health and is Research Coordinator of RESOLVE Alberta. Her Child Health Intervention and Longitudinal Development Studies Program focuses on development and testing of interventions to support the development of infants and children in families experiencing stressors such as low-income and parental depression. She has published articles in Biological Research for Nursing, Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, Violence and Victims, and Journal of Pediatric Nursing.

Additional information

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge funding for this project from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.