African-American and Mexican American families use relatives for childcare more often than white families - but, it is unclear whether this is due to racial and cultural differences or class-based differences. Lynet Uttal argues in this article that there are three main reasons: cultural preference for relative care, historical racism that prevented access to public care services, and the availability and lower cost of relative care. In short, culture, race, and structure are the three main reasons for higher rates of reliance on extended family for childcare in African-American and Mexican American families. Uttal also mentions the fact that childcare is provided mainly by women and that female relatives are most likely to be depended upon for childcare needs.
While all of this evidence does help explain why African-American and Mexican American families are more likely than white families to rely on extended kin for childcare, the author points out that, regardless of the mothers' race, "market-providedchild care becomes more common the older the child is, the fewer the relatives who are locally available, the higher the level of family income, the higher the mother's educational level, and the weaker her preference for exclusive parentalcare for children." So, there are more considerations than simply race. Clearly, having family who are geographically close is important in order to ask for their help with children. Certain cultures are traditionally more tolerant and supportive of kin care, whereas the use of grandparents for babysitting in a white family might be considered "taking advantage" of the grandparents, rather than as a positive utilization of kin ties.
Di Leonardo - Female World of Cards
This article was very interesting. I suppose I have always been somewhat aware of the work that goes into keeping in touch with extended family - my mom has always been very persistent as far as us kids writing thank-you notes, etc. but I really never thought of the extensive work and planning that goes into it. I was especially intrigued by her discussion of the power relations between individual families within the larger family sphere. Some of the competition that goes on between the women and a lot of the small arguments sound very familiar. However, in my family, I feel that my father is probably closer with his family and therefore tends to be the one making phone calls and sending cards. However, his entire family lives in the area, so that also makes it easier. My mom actually does not communicate at all with my step-father's family, but he makes efforts to stay in contact with members of her family, such as her brothers. While my family is a bit different due to our circumstances, I believe that, in general, the author's argument holds true. Women do most of the kin work in families and without women a lot of this work likely would not get done. It does seem strange to think of a grown man organizing a Christmas photo and sending out Christmas cards. Strangely (again), my step-dad also does all of the cooking for any family functions we do have. Her observation that kin-work is often culturally constructed is also very key. My large Italian family probably does make more of an effort to stay in touch and our meals are constructed along cultural lines. The author emphasizes that kin work is not class based, but gender based. Kin work needs to be done regardless of what class the family is - and women are the ones who do it.
The Color of Family Ties - Sarkisian
I found the initial assumption of this article very interesting. It claimed that many might presume that families of color have weaker family ties than white families, whereas I would have actually presumed the opposite. Though it is true that families of color may not always follow the nuclear family model, it is my personal opinion that not following the nuclear family model actually reinforces family ties and makes bonds stronger. I believe that this could be a result of a greater need for support from extended family for women who have children too young or who find themselves as single mothers. The evidence that the article's research found - that minority women were more likely to live with extended kin - does not surprise me when paired with statistics of single-parent families or young childbearing. It makes perfect sense that women in these positions will be in greater need of kin assistance. I also really liked that the article included research on the "emotional support" realm. Emotions are extremely useful and are not nearly valued enough in our society. It is refreshing to see a comprehensive study include emotion work. I found it interesting that the study found social class to be more important than cultural differences as far as likelihood to use kin ties for childcare. This does make sense in the discussion of single-parenthood, but I had assumed cultural differences would make more of a difference. The article does mention that minority cultures look upon kin ties more favorably and are more likely to stress their importance. White culture often emphasizes independence rather than interdependent family ties, which can be very divisive and isolating for white families. I also found it to be a very key point that many women do not feel they can depend upon marriage. I believe people of all races and social classes are experiencing some of these same doubts. With the divorce rate at around 50%, it is far too likely for a woman to end up a single parent - she must have a back up plan. Extended family care can provide that back up.
Explaining the Gender Gap
Early gender socialization provides the best explanation for the gender gap in parental care. Females are socialized to be caregivers from a very young age. Additionally, the authors point out that level of employment makes a difference.
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