Abstract
This paper investigates the impact of the proximity of grandparents' residence on mother's childcare involvement in contemporary China. Drawing on data from the 1991 China Health and Nutrition Survey, we find that the presence of grandparents in the household significantly reduces a mother's involvement in childcare. Nearby residence of grandparents also decreases mothers' childcare involvement, but only in the case of paternal grandparents not maternal grandparents. These findings suggest the importance of grandparents as childcare substitutes and the strong legacy of a patrilineal culture. Our results point to the importance of taking into account kinship ties that extend beyond the household boundary.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bian, Y., Logan, J. R. & Shu, X. L. (2000), Wage and job inequalities in the working lives of men and women in Tianjin, pp. 111–133, in: B. Entwisle & G. E. Henderson (eds.), Redrawing Boundaries: Work, Households, and Gender in China. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Bian, F., Logan. J. R. & Bian, Y. (1998), Intergenerational relations in urban China: Proximity, contact and help to parents, Demography 35: 115–124.
Binder, D. A. (1983), On the variances of asymptotically normal estimators from complex surveys, International Statistical Review 51: 279–292.
Chan, A. (1997), An overview of the living arrangements and social support exchanges of older Singaporeans, Asia-Pacific Population Journal 12: 35–50.
Chan, A. (1996), How do parents and children help one another? Socioeconomic determinants of intergenerational transfers in peninsular Malaysia, Journal of Population 2(l): 43–82.
China State Statistical Bureau (1992), China Statistical Yearbook 1992. Beijing, China: China Statistical Information and Consultancy Service Centre.
China Facts & Figures Annual (1989), Gulf Breeze: Academic International Press.
Connelly, R. (1992), Sell-employment and providing childcare, Demogaphy 29: 17–29.
Cornwell, G., Casper, L. M. & Chou, B. H. (1990), Work, family and childcare in Taiwan, Population Issues Research Center Working Paper Series, No. 1990–20.
Croll, E. (1994), From Heaven to Earth: Images and Experiences of Development in China. New York: Routledge.
Davanzo, J. & Lee, D. I. (1983), The compatibility of childcare with market and nonmarket activities: Preliminary evidence from Malaysia, pp. 62–91, in: M. Buvinie, M. Lycette & W. P. McGreevy (eds.), Women and Poverty in the Third World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Davis, D. (1991), Long Lives: Chinese Elderly and the Communist Revolution. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Davis, D. (2000), Reconfiguring Shanghai households, pp. 245–260, in: B. Entwisle & G. E. Henderson (eds.), Redrawing Boundaries: Work, Households, and Gender in China. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Entwisle, B., Fengying, Z., Bouma, J. & Popkin, B. M. (1994), The multidimensional character of women's work in contemporary China. Unpublished manuscript, Carolina Population Center.
Entwisle, B. & Chen, F. (1998), Fertility and work in China. Paper presented at the 1998 annual meeting of Population Association of American at Chicago.
Greenhalgh, S. & Li, J. (1995), Engendering reproductive policy and practice in peasant China: For a feminist demography of reproduction, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 20(31): 601–641.
Hermalin, A. I., Ofstedal, M. B & Chi, L. (1992), Kin Availability of Elderly in Taiwan: Who is Available and Where are They? Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, Comparative Study of the Elderly in Asia, No. 92–18.
Hermalin, A. I., Roan, C. & Perez, A. (1998), The Emerging Role of Grandparents in Asia. Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, Elderly in Asia Research Report Series No. 98–52.
Ho, T. J. (1979), Time costs of child rearing in the rural Philippines, Population and Development Review 5(4): 643–662.
Huang Shu-Min, Falk, K. C. & Su-Min, Ch. (1996), Nutritional well-being of preschool children in a North China village, Modern China 22: 355–381.
Huber, P. J. (1967), The behavior of maximum likelihood estimates under non-standard conditions. In Proceedings of the Fifth Berkeley Symposium in Mathematical Statistics and Probability, Vol. 1 (pp. 221–223). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Jacka, T. (1997), Women's Work in Rural China: Change and Continuity in an Era of Reform. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press.
Klerman, J. A. & Leibowitz. A. (1999), Job continuity among new mothers, Demography 36: 145–155.
Liao, T. F. (1994), Interpreting probability models: Logit, probit, and other generalized linear models. A volume in the Sage Series for Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Long, S. J. (1997), Regression models for categorical and limited dependent variables. A volume in the Sage Series for Advanced Quantitative Techniques. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Logan, J. R. & Spitze, G. D. (1996), Family Ties: Enduring Relations between Parents and Their Grown Children. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Logan, J. R., Bian, F. & Bian, Y. (1998), Tradition and change in the urban Chinese family: The case of living arrangements, Social Forces 76: 851–882.
Martin, L. G. (1989), Live arrangements of the elderly in Fiji, Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines, Demography 26: 627–643.
Ofstedal, M. B. & Chayovan, N. (1999), Intergenerational support and gender: A comparison of four Asian countries. Paper presented at the annual meeting of Population Association of America, New York City.
Pan, Y. & Lin, N. (1987), A model of contemporary Chinese urban families, Sociological Research 3: 54–67.
Parish, W. L. & Whyte, M. K. (1978), Village and Family Life in Contemporary China. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Presser, H. B. (1989), Can we make time for children? The economy, work schedules, and childcare, Demography 26: 523–542.
Roos, P. A. (1985), Gender and Work: A Comparative Analysis of Industrial Societies. Albany, NY: State University of New York.
Short, S. E., Chen, F., Entwisle, B. & Fengying, Z. (1999), Women's work and time spent in childcare in China. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America, New York.
Short, S. E., Linmao, M. & Wentao, Y. (2000), Birth planning and sterilization in China, Population Studies 54(3): 279–291.
Short, S. E., Fengying, Z., Siyuan. X. & Mingliang, Y. (2001), China's one-child policy and the care of children: An analysis of qualitative and quantitative data, Social Forces (forthcoming).
Statacorp (1997), Stata Statistical Software: Release 50. College Station, TX: Stata Corporation.
Tiefenthaler, J. (1997), Fertility and family time allocation in the Philippines, Population and Development Review 23: 377–397.
Tu, F. J., Freedman, V. A. & Wolf. D. (1992), Kinship and family support in Taiwan: A microsimulation approach. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America, Denver, Colorado.
Unger, J. (1993), Urban families in the eighties: An analysis of Chinese surveys, pp. 25–49, in: D. Davis & S. Harrell (eds.), Chinese Families in the Post Mao Era. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
White, H. (1980), A heteroskedasticity-consistent covariance matrix estimator and a direct test for heteroskedasticity, Econometrica 48: 817–830.
Wolf, M. (1985), Revolution Postponed: Women in Contemporary China. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Zeng, Y. (1991), Family Dynamics in China: A Life Table Analysis. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
Zhu, Ch. & Guang, X. (1991), An analysis of the life-cycle of Chinese women, Chinese Journal of Population Science 3(3): 247–257.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chen, F., Short, S.E. & Entwisle, B. The impact of grandparental proximity on maternal childcare in China. Population Research and Policy Review 19, 571–590 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010618302144
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010618302144