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Time for Good Parenthood: A Study of Intercountry Adoption Assessment

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Doing Good Parenthood

Part of the book series: Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Family and Intimate Life ((PSFL))

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore how parents’ opinions and actions related to time are presented in intercountry adoption assessment reports concerning applicants who have been granted consent to adopt. As these reports establish what is required for someone to be categorised as a suitable parent, they construct and display the moral order of parenthood. An analysis of statements about time, as it relates to parental leave, working hours, preschool hours, family activities, leisure time and hobbies, illustrates how meanings of good parenthood are discursively produced. Good parents make time for, and spend time with, their children. They invest in togetherness by exchanging time of lesser value for time of greater value. This officially sanctioned understanding of good parenthood corresponds with the cultural norm of involved, devoted and child-centred parents, and reinforces the romanticised image of quality time and togetherness in the lives of nuclear families.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This work was supported by the Swedish Research Council (70201801) and the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (2015–00542). The research procedure was reviewed and approved by the Regional Ethical Review Board, Linköping, Sweden (3510180000).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Thematic Studies – Child Studies, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

    Cecilia Lindgren

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  1. Cecilia Lindgren
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Correspondence to Cecilia Lindgren .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Thematic Studies – Child Studies, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

    Anna Sparrman

  2. Center for Childhood, Youth & Family Research, Department of People & Technology, Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark

    Allan Westerling

  3. Department of Thematic Studies – Child Studies, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

    Judith Lind

  4. Department of Educational Anthropology, School of Education, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Karen Ida Dannesboe

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Lindgren, C. (2016). Time for Good Parenthood: A Study of Intercountry Adoption Assessment. In: Sparrman, A., Westerling, A., Lind, J., Dannesboe, K. (eds) Doing Good Parenthood. Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Family and Intimate Life. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46774-0_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46774-0_2

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-46773-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-46774-0

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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