Child-headed households as contested spaces: Challenges and opportunities in children's decision-making

Abstract

This article explores the constraints and opportunities in children's decision-making in child-headed households (CHHs). It draws from the findings of an explorative study of 30 CHHs carried out in Harare, Zimbabwe in 2007. Relatively little is known about how children make decisions in CHHs, notwithstanding the fact that understanding this process can be an entry way into their lifeworlds. Situated semi-structured interviews were used with older children from the ages of 11–17 years and participatory methods with children from the ages of 5–10 years to investigate decision-making in CHHs. The findings seem to reveal that some of the children in CHHs are active agents who try in their own way to make sense of their situations and to act within their capacities to improve their experiences. Initiatives to assist them should therefore be planned, taking into account the fact that they can contribute solutions to the challenges they encounter in their daily lives.

Keywords:

• agency
• challenges
• child-headed households
• decision-making
• opportunities