Abstract
This article examines the cooperation and conflicts in the “intergenerational parenting coalition,” the practice of joint caregiving by parents and grandparents that is prevalent among contemporary urban Chinese families. The author argues that a pattern of “yan mu ci zu” (grandparents feed, mothers teach) has emerged in the intergenerational parenting coalition. Specifically, young mothers act as powerful “managers” of the childrearing project, while grandparents serve primarily as caretakers who are marginalized in family power relations. Differing from the institutionalized power structure in traditional Chinese families, yan mu ci zu is a set of fluid, uninstitutionalized power relations constrained by negotiations and bargaining between family members and mediated by intergenerational intimate relations.
Highlights
In western societies, the USA, the majority of grandparents follow a norm of noninterference in intergenerational relationships and do not assume a central role in caring for or rearing grandchildren (Cherlin and Furstenburg 1986)
A few scholars have noted the tendency for grandparents to become “nannies” in the intergenerational parenting coalition, i.e., they take on the lion’s share of the housework and childcare while giving up their voice in family decision-making (Goh and Kudznski 2010; Shen 2013). These findings indicate that contemporary intergenerational parenting coalitions present a continuance of the traditional intergenerational cooperation and reveal a new feature regarding intergenerational relations and the changing power relations between generations in particular
Yan mu ci zu: the division of labor and power relations in childrearing Among the middle-class families that participated in this study, the pattern of yan mu ci zu has emerged regarding the division of labor in the intergenerational parenting coalition
Summary
The USA, the majority of grandparents follow a norm of noninterference in intergenerational relationships and do not assume a central role in caring for or rearing grandchildren (Cherlin and Furstenburg 1986). This particular study examines power in intergenerational relations from a relatively static view, highlighting the shift in the relative position and status of grandparents and parents in the family that resulted in changes in the resources, rights, responsibilities, and obligations of the two generations.
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