Foreign domestic helpers’ involvement in non-parental childcare: A multiple case study in Hong Kong

Across different societies, families have increasingly relied on non-parental childcare, especially within industrialized nations where both parents of a familial unit are often employed outside of the home (Bonizzoni, 2014). Although there has been growing research on the impact of non-parental childcare on children (e.g., Cortés & Pan, 2013), less work has focused in-depth on the nature, quality, and influential factors of such care. The present study focuses on non-parental childcare in Hong Kong, where more than ten thousand families have hired foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) to assist them in raising their children (Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, 2017). To investigate the role FDHs play in the lives of the children they help raise, without the limitations imposed by experimental paradigms, the present study adopted a grounded theory approach (Martin & Turner, 1986). Three Hong Kong middle-class families were recruited upon the recommendation of the principals of selected kindergartens. The following criteria were applied: (a) at least one preschool child was part of the family; (b) at least one FDH was employed; and (c) the FDH was involved in childcare at home. Data was collected from the following stakeholders (N = 12): one preschool-aged child chosen from each family (2 boys, 1 girl), their mothers, their class teachers (all female), and their FDHs (all female). These individuals were interviewed using the same protocol; the interviews were then transcribed and coded in several iterations to identify themes that were common to all three families, as well as the unique characteristics within each family. The results (see Table 1) indicated that all parents were primarily driven by the financial, rather than pedagogical, benefits of non-parental childcare. However, parents still held beliefs regarding childcare, and conflicts arose if these beliefs were not adequately practiced by the FDHs. More specifically, although parents all reported long-ter