One unintended consequence of the unprecedented rural-to-urban migration in China over the past three decades is the exponentially increased number of "left-behind" children—children whose parents migrated to more developed areas and who live with one parent or other extended family members. The daily lives of these children, including their caretaking arrangements, parent-child bonding and communication, and schooling, are fraught with distractions and uncertainties. Paying special attention to this marginalized group, this book investigates the role of parental migration and the left-behind status in shaping Chinese family dynamics and children’s general wellbeing, including their school performance, delinquency, resilience, feelings of ambiguous loss, and other psychological problems. Blending theory, empirical research, and real-world interviews with left-behind children, China's Left-Behind Children provides a uniquely close look at these children's lives while also providing the larger national context that defines and shapes their everyday lives.
List of Illustrations ix
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Chapter 2: Who Leaves and Who Stays? Factors Associated with Parental Migration and Caretaking Arrangements 23
Chapter 3: Caretaking At-Home: Grandparenting and One-Parent Caretaking 47
Chapter 4: Parenting from Afar: Long-Distance Parenting and Short Visits 70
Chapter 5: “Have You Finished Your Homework?” Parental Migration, Caretaking Practices, and Children’s Schooling 96
Chapter 6: Are Left-Behind Children More Deviance- and Delinquency-Prone? 120
Chapter 7: Children’s Psychological Wellbeing: Caretaking Practices, Long-Distance Parenting, and Ambiguous Loss 142
Chapter 8: Conclusion 166
Acknowledgments 189
References 191
Index 203
