Home as the Third Place: Stories of movement among immigrant caregivers in an intercultural Chilean city

Parenting practices are inherently related to the sociocultural and material contexts in which children and their caregivers live. Rooted in sociocultural perspectives, this research contributes to the study of contextualized caregiving by ethnographically examining the daily caregiving practices of seven low-income immigrant mothers and their young children. Research participants all live in a precarious material context in a Chilean intercultural city. This study illuminates how caregivers use their understanding of the world to make sense of their realities, both resources and constraints, and actively negotiate with the elements of everyday life. We discuss (a) the mobilizing effect of their hopes and dreams on potential future life (we refer to it as the Third Place), manifested in a constant search for a better life and (b) the personal and contextual resources that mothers draw on to provide physical care to their children, despite social constraints and scarcity of material resources. Las practicas parentales estan relacionadas con los contextos socioculturales y materiales donde ninos, ninas y sus cuidadores viven. Esta investigacion contribuye al estudio de la crianza infantil contextualizada al examinar etnograficamente las practicas parentales de siete madres inmigrantes de nivel socioeconomico bajo junto a sus hijos e hijas menores de tres anos de edad. Los participantes viven en un contexto material precario en una ciudad intercultural chilena. Este estudio ilumina como las madres utilizan su comprension del mundo para dar sentido a sus realidades y negocian activamente con elementos cotidianos. Discutimos (a) el efecto movilizador de sus esperanzas y suenos sobre la potencial vida futura (Tercer Lugar), manifestado en una busqueda constante de una vida mejor y (b) los recursos personales y contextuales a los que las madres recurren para brindar cuidados fisicos a sus hijos e hijas, a pesar de las limitaciones sociales y la escasez de recursos materiales.

Automated summary

This research examines the caregiving practices of low-income immigrant mothers and their young children in Chile, highlighting the influence of sociocultural and material contexts on parenting. The study reveals how caregivers make sense of their realities and actively negotiate with everyday life. It also explores the mobilizing effect of hopes and dreams on striving for a better life and the personal and contextual resources mothers utilize to provide physical care to their children.