‘You cut off a part of your body to feed your family’ Parental perspectives on parent–child separation in the context of child domestic work: A qualitative study from Karnataka, India

• Published in: Children & society 2023-11, Vol.37 (6), p.1951-1973
• Main Authors: Ramanan, Namratha, Derluyn, Ilse, Adriaenssens, Peter, De Haene, Lucia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Children; Children & youth; Coping; Decision making; Families & family life; Households; Housework; Labor migration; Migration; Parents & parenting; Qualitative research; Socioeconomic factors; Working parents; Young adults
• ISSN: 0951-0605; 1099-0860
• DOI: 10.1111/chso.12730

Live‐in child domestic work is an often exploitative informal labour sector that involves child migration and long‐term separation of children from their family. While studies have documented the impact of family separation in cases of adult migration and young adult migration, little is known about the impact of child migration and related parent–child separation. This small‐scale, explorative qualitative study aimed to understand lived experiences of parent–child separation through in‐depth interviews with seven parents of children working at households in Karnataka, as live‐in domestic help. This study is the first of its kind to explore parental experiences of separation from their child/ren in the context of live‐in domestic work and explores notions on the existence of choice in decision‐making, and sheds light on how practices of separation are interlinked with socioeconomic factors, societal hierarchy and cultural practices of parenting that lead to understanding and coping with the ensuing separation. It concludes by identifying some policy implications that are relevant for organizations seeking to re‐unify and reintegrate children with their families after a period of separation.