Understanding the Transnational Care Arrangements: Experiences in Nonparental Care in the Case of the Filipino Transnational Families

Abstract

Transnational familyhood involves care reconfiguration and shifting roles among Filipino migrants and the family left-behind. This study investigates how experiences and practices of transnational care arrangements are negotiated from the perspective of the nonparental carers. It specifically aims to understand its dynamics and patterns in shaping care relationships, normative familial values and the hope to reconstitute the family amidst migration-induced care. Results of the study showed that the grandmothers of the migrating parents were commonly entrusted with child fostering and reliance, which to encompass mediation in the relationship of migrant parents and left-behind children. As they shoulder majority of caregiving responsibilities, they often face differing burdens of caregiving, mediation and ageing. The lived realities and socio-cultural facet of grandparent-caregiving reveal their unconditional love to the migrants’ family, thus enduring the challenges of navigating transnational parenting. The critical role of grandparents as nonparental carers in the case of Filipino transnational families demands greater recognition in the development of programs and policies to highlight an integrated family and health assistance responsive to them in the areas of transnational care arrangements, care sharing, collaboration and the shifting responsibilities and expectations. It is hoped to cultivate stronger family connectedness and intimacy.

Keywords

nonparental carers lived experience care arrangement transnational family long-distance parenting

Introduction

Transnational families are becoming a natural phenomenon of today's family structure and system propelled by globalization. Most of the time families are separated by borders as economic migrants and yet hold together a collective familyhood across borders. Migrating family members often make sacrifices for economic returns and contend with emotional tensions (Bryceson, 2019). It becomes an investment for socio-economic security towards a better living condition (Pine, 2014).

The changing nature of family life and patterns has reconfigured parenting roles, expectations and responsibilities especially if both parents plan to work overseas. This has led to family problems especially to the care of left-behind children (Graham & Jordan, 2011; Zhao et al., 2018). According to Dreby (2006), it was mostly men who engaged in migration abroad. However, feminist studies showed that the global division of labor has shifted to the high demand of female workers in this phase of globalization. The demand for women is increasing in number as they take up jobs in other countries (Chammartin, 2002). Despite the emotional distress that results from geographical separation, family members learned to live “apart-together” (Mazzucato & Schans, 2011) through transnational family practices of long-distance communication, return visits and remittances. While there are studies that investigate the lived experiences of the left-behind children, transnational parents and the dynamics of transnational parenting across borders to our knowledge, limited have investigated the day-to-day caregiving experiences of the nonparental carers.

Labor migration has normalized and often rationalized as “for the family's sake”, the absence of a parent necessarily changes the pattern of everyday life and care for those left behind (Parreñas, 2005). Family structures are now altered to control the consequence of long-distance parenting which depends on varying factors such as the socioeconomic and cultural norms of the family (Rigg, 2007). In the Philippines, one revolving reason of migration is to address the cycle of poverty—and as migrating parents work abroad, members of the extended family usually take the responsibility of caring the left-behind children (Asis, 2006).

The involvement of family members in the decision to embark on labor migration has helped reduced familial burden and pressure in the reconfiguration of care for the left-behind children (Senaratna, 2012). Nevertheless, the limited studies on the experiences of the nonparental carers hint at an arrangement that is potentially fraught with tensions and negotiations, sometimes leading to a restructuring or weakening of ties, and estranged relationships between the migrant parents and their children (Hoang et al., 2012). While transnational care arrangements are often embedded in the life of transnational families, the experiences of nonparental carers must be looked into. The researcher believes that the focus of the study will shed more perspectives to contribute protecting transnational families’ well-being and facilitate a loving and nurturing environment for the happiness and integral human development of their left-behind children.

This qualitative phenomenological study sought answers to the following questions: (1) what are the family circumstances of the nonparental carers; (2) how this transnational care arrangement contributes to support the gendered burdens of caregiving?; and (3) What are the reflections of the nonparental carers on the meaning of transnational parenting?.

Method

Research Design and Procedure

A qualitative research design was employed in this study to describe the meaning of the participants’ life experiences using the phenomenological research approach. This is a form of social enquiry that focused on how the participants interpret and make sense of their experience and the world in which they live.

The study employed the phenomenological interview approach of Seidman (2006). The method required three interviews for each participant, wherein the first is a focused life history that provides context of the phenomenon understanding the family circumstances, followed by an interview aimed to reconstruct the experience with its relationships and structures exploring how transnational care reconfiguration affects the well-being of the family, and finally an interview that allowed the participants to reflect on the meaning of their experience. All participants were able to successfully participate in the interviews at an appropriate and neutral setting based on the preference of participants. During the analysis, the researcher eliminated and clarified preconceptions about the phenomenon. This allowed the researcher to listen and record the participants’ description of the experiences and give equal value to all statements. The researcher also developed an exhaustive and inclusive description of the phenomenon integrating the individual textural description of experiences and finally condensed the exhaustive description down to a short, inclusive statement that captured just those aspects essential to the structure of the phenomenon.

This research observed diligently the Philippine national ethical principles in the conduct of the study (Philippine Health Research Ethics Board, 2017) specifically: (a) informed consent; (b) right to confidentiality and privacy; (c) right to withdraw; and (d) the research integrity.

Profile of the Participants

The goal of this qualitative research is to provide a deeper understanding of the phenomenon and therefore, targets a specific group and type of individual. Nonprobability sampling was employed to obtain the target population who met the pre-defined criteria. Five participants were sought for this study and were assigned with pseudonyms to keep their anonymity. Their profiles present some of their personal and socio-economic information. This is a combined total measure of their age, occupation, residence, relationship with the migrant parent/s, migrants’ place of work, monthly allowance, number of years as a nonparental carer and age of the left-behind children. Participants ranged in age from 55 to 62 who are still active working with their husbands in farming. They all come from Western Visayas, Philippines and are mothers of the migrants. Four of them lived in one home abode with the migrants’ family and only one living in a separate home but in the same compound. Five of them are receiving 4,000 to 6,000 pesos monthly allowance but according to the participants significant portion of that amount also goes to their “apos” (grandchildren) aside from the monthly remittances sent for their children's daily needs. They have been entrusted with this care arrangement for 2 to 4 years already for children ages 4 to 6 years old. Of five migrant parents, two are working in Singapore and the reset in Saudi Arabia as domestic helpers.

Participant 1: Marilyn* (55 years old) has willingly given herself to take the responsibility of looking after her migrant daughter's 2 children (a boy and a girl) ages 4 and 5 years old. According to Marilyn, at first, her daughter was hesitant to give her the responsibility due to her health concerns, but she insisted because she is a mother too and no one can equal the love she has for her grandchildren.

Participant 2: Terry* (57 years old) is living on a separate household just proximate from her daughter's house and even before that decision to work abroad, she is already looking after her grandson. She is already prepared for this responsibility because this has been planned in the past years. Her grandson (5 years old) is staying with her the whole day and in the evening his father would take care of him after his work in the farm.

Participant 3: Ada* (62 years old) has assumed the responsibility of taking her 6-year-old granddaughter. At first it was really a challenging responsibility due to old age and that her migrant daughter is a single parent but nonetheless it is a fulfilling experience for her to see how they are provided with a decent living condition.

Participant 4: Ella* (59 years old) has fully supported the decision of her migrating daughter. It was a family decision and the willingness to improve the living condition of the family. She finds immense happiness and satisfaction in providing her 5-year-old grandson with a safe and nurturing home environment in which they grow and feel loved.

Participant 5: Carmen* (61 years old) was quick to recognize of giving her time and self to her migrating daughter's left-behind children. She unconditionally shows her motherly love to her grandchildren (2 boys) ages 4 and 6 years old. She also shared how responsible their father in providing their needs in support of her wife.

Findings and Discussions

Three essential themes emerged from the narratives of the five participants, namely: (1) Beyond the Nuclear Family: Grandmothers as nonparental carers; (2) Mediating Spaces in Proximate and Distance Transnational Care; and (3) A Hope for a Stronger Family Ties. In the final section of the phenomenological analysis, the development of structural synthesis containing the bones and the true meanings of the lived experiences was advanced in this section. This synthesis was the aim of the final stage of the data analysis.

Beyond the Nuclear Family: Grandmothers as Nonparental Carers

The experiences of participants revealed the social costs of migration as migrant parents endure the pain of separation of working abroad. This resulted to family reconfigurations of caregiving practices as well as living arrangements. The well-being of the left-behind families cannot be divorced from the conditions of the migrating parents, thus entrusting their left-behind children to them. It is always the reason why they have the courage to leave because their mothers commit themselves to take care of their children. This narrative was commonly shared by all the participants. Marilyn* shares:

As a mother, I truly understand my daughter's situation. She will do anything for her family and children just what I did for them. I have made so many sacrifices just to ensure the quality of life of my family. And now that she is a mother, she will do the same even be separated from her children and work abroad as an OFW. Even her without asking it, I already embraced that responsibility to take care of my grandchildren.

Hoang et al. (2015) also reported in their study that when mothers migrate, relatives, particularly female relatives, provide childcare especially in tasks like teaching the children and nurturing them. Grandmothers now become the caregivers and took the important role of child fostering and reliance while migrant parents work abroad. The grandparents’ caregiving role was largely followed gender-based norms where they are primarily responsible for caregiving and domestic work.

Terry* recalls:

In her (migrating mother) decision to work abroad, she humbly asked me to look for her son and understand her decision to work abroad. I have that feeling of guilt because poverty has separated her from her only child. At times, I blame myself that if only I worked more and harder, this separation would not happen.

Narratives also reported that the migrants’ husbands are also present in securing the needs of their children, but caregiving was mainly the responsibility of participants. This transference of the task of caring for left-behind children onto grandparents has also shown in the study of Musil et al. (2009) where grandmothers assumed the responsibility as primary caregivers when parents are unable to fulfill their parenting role.

At the pre-migration stage, planning to embark with labor migration has prepared the migrants’ family to accept long-distance separation for the sake of alleviating their life out of poverty. Ada* explains:

Since she (granddaughter) has no mother by her side, I need to take the role and responsibility of caring her. We are only her family here since her mother is a single parent. I am also a mother and I understand our situation. I know how important my role in the life of my family.

During the decision-making, every family member was involved, and their children's educational future were the main consideration for migration. In interviews, participants reflected how they showed the needed understanding and support. They even felt that guilt because if not with poverty, their children would not settle to work abroad, more so leaving their own children. It was a painful reality and that circumstance made them promise to take care of their grandchildren. Migrant parents relied much on their mothers to take care and look for the children compared to their husbands. When asked why, participants commonly answered, “because we are mothers too.” Carmen* explains:

Who else will take responsibility of caring them? Mothers have this unconditional and never-ending love for their family … I may be old now but my love for my family never withered. I don't see this as a sacrifice but a calling because my family is my priority since the day I conceived them.

Participants assured the migrating mothers of the most needed love of their left-behind children. Over time, participants learned to navigate their way into becoming truly parents and not just grandparents, whether in decisions pertaining to care arrangements or the welfare of their grandchildren (i.e., education, food, clothing, etc.). While migrants’ husbands are still doing their role as fathers, the participants do still most parental work. Ella added:

I understand the Filipino traditional household … still we have that notion of the role of the father in the family. My daughter's husband has never stopped working in the farm even her wife is already working abroad—and that I understand. He is still the breadwinner of the family. If he can't go fulltime for doing household chores and in taking care of his son, I happily take his role.

The experience of participants was bound in a range of emotions. Positive emotions, like the love and concern they feel for their own children and grandchildren, the joy in seeing them learn and grow while their mothers work abroad. They provide them with a safe, reassuring, and nurturing family environment. Hondagneu-Sotelo and Avila (1997) noted that transnational motherhood arrangements are not exclusive to paid domestic work but to include ensuring that both the migrating parents and the left-behind children will develop familial intimacy across borders. Moreover, Poeze et al. (2017) presented that this kind of transnational relationship is constructed through a shared valuing of the family, which is shown in the narratives of the participants.

Mediating Spaces of the Proximate and Distance Transnational Care

The notions of proximity and distance in a transnational family setting have been effective in bridging the gap of parenting spaces. Procentese et al. (2019) showed how online communication fostered care and intimacy within the family. However, it should be explored that despite the online and mediated presence, care and intimacy do not develop automatically but it must be actively cultivated as part of the family psyche. Narratives of participants expressed that mediation on transnational care is both an opportunity and challenge because it allows dependable and constant communication but raises more expectations. This quality of intimate communication in transnational family is, however, hard to sustain and maintain. Ella* explains:

We have a very challenging situation especially on the aspect of mothering. No one can ever replace the role of a mother at home. I have seen how he (grandson) got distant with his mother even if there is that regular long-distance communication. It pains me to see their situation … as days passed, my daughter would have more expectations from me especially in making him understand.

The transition on creating a stable transnational family environment can be very difficult if grandparents did not strive for a stable and predictable family dynamics. No amount of remittance or online communication can compensate the time lost as children grow a feeling of abandonment. The participants also feel guilty and responsible for their daughters’ decision to work abroad because of the cycle of poverty that has been recurring in the family. But through constant communication and reminder, the left-behind children learned to feel love even at young age. This finding substantiates the ECMI/AOS-Manila et al. (2004) analysis, which revealed that the higher frequency of communication between children and migrant parents also appears to contribute to better well-being of the family.

The participants also stressed that there has never been any issues or problems occurred about childcare arrangement in the family. This finding is in contrary to what has been revealed in the study of Hugo and Ukwatta (2010) that contends how extended kin care and arrangement may lead to various familial, social, and monetary disputes that would weaken family ties. Marilyn* explains:

Because of their mother's nature of work abroad, she cannot make regular phone calls. Although there has never been an issue on the finances and needs of the family, the burden lies on making both ends meet because of time difference and the demands of work. However, it never weakens our familial love and commitment because of the trust we have in the family. We always have an open and honest communication.

The intimate communication between parents and children is supposed to make sure children understand the situation but this does not come easy for both. As a result, expectations for nonparental carers must encompass mediating their relationship. While family practices and relationships play out differently on this time of migration, the role of the participants becomes even more important to sustain the notion of “being a family”. Carmen* recounts:

I always remind her (migrant daughter) to stay strong and never worry about the children because I am here for them. I know how difficult it is to leave her family, but we need to endure all challenges for their future.

Participants reported that they never experienced any reproach of pressure from migrant parents despite of the challenges of transnational care expectations which contends Asis’ (2006) findings. The commitment of the participants is significant in keeping the family together within the limits imposed by circumstances. Participants mutually shared that there has never been a feeling of pressure directed to them by anybody in the family. They have developed positive relationships that offered emotional support rather than self-absorption in their later life experiences. This ultimately mends the constraints caused by distance. Ada* describes:

Sometimes it is challenging to have this responsibility because of old age. But this is already a calling for me … so I need to also take care of myself and give my best to them. I will never get tired of caring and loving them.

Despite these struggles, the participants learned to develop a sense of optimism and hopefulness and adapt in the shifting of responsibilities. They have the belief that their healthy disposition would mean healthy grandchildren. Prayer has also provided them the comfort and peacefulness to cope with the demands of transnational family life by becoming more understanding, open and permissive. Findings of Nakonz and Shik (2009) also explains that religious interpretations were used to see difficulties in a more positive light. In addition, finding support from family members had significant effect to them. Ella* shares:

No one would want to be separated thousand miles away from your family and children. I just keep on praying every day that this will come to pass and soon we will reap the fruit of her sacrifices. I am also blessed with the help and understanding of my 57-year-old husband because it makes caregiving more manageable.

Grandparents reflected admirable resilience in coping with the challenges of having a transnational family. They employed three major strategies for moving beyond the burden and guilt. Such strategies include positive attitude, faith and prayer, and positive social support. The reward of this shifting role for the participants is centered on seeing their family develop an intimate and nurturing relationship in the family despite of distance.

A Hope for a Stronger Family Ties

Each participant emphasized the importance of family. These grandmothers regard their families as the center of their family life. Hence, they will endure any challenge just for the family. Significant from the participants’ narratives is their persistent hope for the secured well-being and reunification of every family member. Ochiltree (2006) also affirmed in his findings that family relationship is more important than any social exchanges outside the family which gives the participants a sense of fulfillment and value in the family. Terry* shares:

My happiness is to see them enjoying the things that I was not able to provide in the past. I know … my presence here in the family brings security and assurance of unconditional parental care and that is the best thing I can share to my family.

The participants also shared that hope to maintain strong emotional attachments despite of distance and restore the normal family structure and function through family reunification. This finding showed representation to what Garabiles’ et al. (2017) findings that a resilient family share the goal of permanent family reunification by ensuring a better life for the family. Terry* shares:

My only hope is for their family to achieve their goals and be reunited soon. I hope that they will grow stronger as a family and keep that faith in God and pray to help them reach their goals.

Participants have always been coexisting with migrant mothers since the beginning having acknowledged their family sacrifices just to provide a better life condition. Migrant mothers strived to manage to fulfill their mother-role to protect the family. And their mothers as caregivers are very much supportive for their left-behind children in fulfilling their motherly duties. The quality of grandparents’ care was found to be especially important in the growth of the children left behind but they also hope that they will be blessed with good health so they can continually help their daughters. Marilyn* explains:

I love my daughter and my grandchildren. My only hope is for me to stay healthy so I can continue to take care of them. I just want my grandchildren to have a better future and as a mother—that would also be my happiness.

Collectively, participants show that taking the role of their migrant daughters is not only reconstituted to just securing their family's well-being, but understanding the spatial and temporal components of being a nonparental carer and a mediator to preserve familial intimacy across borders.

Conclusion

As migrant parents leave to work abroad, their parents assumed the “mothering role” to a greater degree. There are three important factors that made them decide to take the role as principal carers of left-behind children: (1) the personal factor in which they see the necessity to support and understand the decision of their daughters because they are mothers too who will do anything for the best interest of their children; (2) the societal/economic factor because of the cycle of poverty they experienced in the past; and (3) the cultural factor where participants’ families have long shared care responsibilities within extended family. Participants also showed resilience in the situation and capitalized family communication across space. The regular communication allowed role sharing and validation to preserve transnational intimacy. Results of this study also illustrate religious coping as an important source of hope among participants. Furthermore, they reported that prayer gave them a sense of peace, strength, and answers to transnational family problems. The participants hope to live a collective sense of familial love, unity, and welfare even across borders. Family reunification is hoped with better life condition. The scope of the study provided a framework to generate a deeper and more authentic understanding of the lived experiences of the participants. This study offered meaning, illuminated the participants’ rich narratives, and opened greater room to strengthen family ties and reduce transnational family dysfunctions.

Implication to Practice

The notions of transnational care arrangement are challenged not only by the proximity and distance in caring but also the physical and psychological conditions of the nonparental carers purportedly led to personal pressures due to family role expectations. Drawing on insights from the extant literature on transnational families and the result of the study, it presented essential findings to develop family strategies to collectively address the challenges of care arrangements and the care circulation framework of Merla et al. (2020) may be used to highlight these transnational care strategies. A continuing pre and post migration family life seminar and support group should be practiced that does not only focus on livelihood opportunities and other income-generating means but to include programs on transnational communication, parenting, childcare, sharing familial roles and reunification and values formation. This instrumental support is seen to benefit grandmothers raising grandchildren as noted by Leder et al. (2007). This is to give each family member the opportunity to understand the nature of their responsibilities and increase the shared commitment for family reunification. The inclusion of grandmothers and family support in policy and program formulation is also seen imperative to understand issues on family role configuration and the cycle of transnational family life as it presents an important direction for future interventions.

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

The author would like to express his sincere gratitude to the participants of the study who foster resilience and positive attitude in creating a loving and nurturing transnational family environment. Your sacrifices and commitment will not go unnoticed. I am beyond grateful and blessed. Thank you also to West Visayas State University for the continued support in carrying out the study.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Jeffrey R. Ballaret

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