Solo Parenting vs.Coparenting:Division of Parenthood and Child Development in Families with Two Parents in China
This paper examines the crucial role parents play in child development especially in two-parent families with respect to the di-vision of their responsibilities for a child's daily care and education and the overall share of parenting responsibility in association with child development.Based on the roles that parents play in children's daily care and education,this study distinguishes four types of par-enting:father's solo parenting,mother's solo parenting,coparenting where the father is responsible for care and the mother for tutoring,and coparenting where the mother is responsible for care and the father for tutoring.We then compare the children's academic perform-ance,subjective well-being,and family educational environments across these four types.Using data from a survey on the after-school lives of Chinese children collected from students and parents across 112 primary and lower secondary public schools nationwide,the find-ings show that the most prevalent type of division of parenting in two-parent families in China is the mother's solo parenting,followed by coparenting,with the father's solo parenting being the least common.As children grow older,the proportion of coparenting increases.Compared to the mother's solo parenting,coparenting is better at enhancing children's academic performance,subjective well-being,par-ent-child relationships,as well as enriching their extracurricular activities.In comparison with mother's solo parenting,father's solo paren-ting produces the worst child outcomes.These findings confirm the value of advocating for shared parental responsibility in childrearing,as brought up by the Family Education Promotion Law of China.The finding also reveals the challenges faced by children in households led by father's solo parenting,calling for increased attention to this issue.
division of parenthoodfatherhoodmotherhoodfamily educationchild development
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万方数据
