Parental Migration, Intergenerational Obligations and the Paradox for Left-Behind Boys in Rural China

Abstract

Drawing on in-depth interviews with caregivers of left-behind children (LBC) in rural China, this article seeks to explore their understanding of migration motives and the social process of taking on care-giving roles for LBC. The authors argue that there are underlying socio-cultural explanations pertaining to economic motives for migration; such as, making contributions to social events (weddings and funerals) in village life, and fulfilling social obligations for left-behind sons' futures. Parents migrate to save for sons', but not daughters', adult lives. Grandparents, particularly on the paternal side, are expected to fulfil social obligations to care for left-behind grandchildren, even without immediate financial returns. These suggest that left-behind boys, and in particular boys cared for by paternal grandparents, may be at greater risk than other LBC, as they may receive even fewer resources in the form of remittances from migrant parents in their early childhood.

The Rise of Maternal Grandmother Child Care in Urban Chinese Families

“…Thus, in many rural areas, a patrilineal bias that privileges sons rather than daughters within the same household can still be seen. In a study of caregivers of left-behind children in rural China, N. Zhang et al (2016) found a patrilineal bias favoring paternal grandparents as caregivers for grandchildren. This was largely because the maternal grandmothers in their sample had multiple adult children and gave priority to looking after sons' children instead of daughters' children.…”

“…Although weakened patrilineal norms in upward flows of assistance are well documented as manifested in more and more married daughters living with their own parents and providing at least as much of the elder care as their male counterparts (Shi, 2009;Whyte, 2005;Xie & Zhu, 2009), several studies have shown that both monetary and time transfer from parents' downward transfer to adult children still reflects a son-biased norm (Hu, 2017;Jiang, Li, & Feldman, 2015;N. Zhang, Chandola, Becares, & Callery, 2016).…”

Patterns and Determinants of Double-Burden of Malnutrition among Rural Children: Evidence from China

“…Therefore, in case of food scarcity, boys may be more likely to be suffered than girls. Another possible explanation might be due to socio-cultural obligation for boys in rural China that parents tend to save up for son’s adult lives instead of investing in their nutrition, while there is less pressure for girls [ 75 ].…”

Trends in urban/rural inequalities in cardiovascular risk bio-markers among Chinese adolescents in two decades of urbanisation: 1991–2011

“…This may suggest that living in more urbanized areas can be more detrimental for boys than for girls. One possible explanation may be due to the socio-cultural norm of ‘son preference’ whereas sons are more culturally valued and tend to be allocated more resources than daughters [ 39 – 41 ]. Another possible explanation may be that adolescent boys are more prone to develop risky cardiovascular health behaviors such as poorer dietary habits, less physical activity, and higher odds of smoking that can be associated with poor neighborhood contexts [ 49 ] .…”

“…All models were adjusted for family socioeconomic circumstances in terms of maternal education and household income per capita to remove potentially confounding effects. All analyses were stratified by gender given the specific socio-cultural context of China where boys tend to be more valued and given more resources [ 39 – 41 ].…”