PARENTING FOR LEFT-BEHIND CHILDREN IN MIGRANT WORKER FAMILIES: A STUDY IN WEST JAVA

Abstract

Women’s decision to be a migrant worker may cause problems in their domestic functions and roles, including childcare. Children may only be taken care of by a father, not both parents as it should be, or even a member of extended family. The negative impact of labor migration on family, particularly left-behind children, has not been a concern of the authorities of the country. This study sought to describe the parenting system for left-behind children in West Java. It used the Case Study method with Karawang and Bandung Barat Regencies were purposively selected as the population. Data were collected by interviewing and observing 20 key-informants, i.e. the householders of the migrant families. The result showed that parenting in migrant worker families was held by husbands/fathers by providing the best care and education for their children. Still, it is different from how a mother may apply it. In some aspects, the mother’s role is irreplaceable, particularly at the early development stage. Occasionally, grandmothers and aunts help the fathers to look after the children in order to reduce the fathers’ burden. The study found five types of a father in the father-and-left-behind-children relationship: (1) an intimate father; (2) a plain, distant father; (3) a strict, authoritative father; (4) a spoiling father; and (5) an indifferent father.