Under the Same Roof: Grandparental Co-Residence and Co-Parenting Patterns in Modern Chinese Families

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the role of grandparental co-residence in shaping coparenting patterns in the Chinese family context. Using a sample of 5,795 children (Mean age = 6.74 years; SD = 3.82) from the China Family Panel Studies 2012-2018, we offered a novel typology of six coparenting patterns based on daytime and nighttime childcare information: a) grandparental care only (15.4%); b) grandparent-parent coparenting (10.9%); c) parental care only (44.5%); d) grandparent-private coparenting (4.2%); e) parent-private coparenting (16%); and f) private care only (e.g., paid nanny, nursery schools/kindergartens, and others, 9.1%). Fixed-effects multinominal logistic regression was applied to investigate the effects of grandparental co-residence on daytime and nighttime childcare, and on daily coparenting patterns over time, controlling for a set of child and parental characteristics and family conditions. Grandmother co-residence contributed to both daytime and nighttime grandparenting, while grandfather co-residence increased the likelihood of grandparenting and private care during the daytime. In terms of daily coparenting, grandmother co-residence was associated with increased probability of grandparent-parent coparenting as well as grandparent-private coparenting, while grandfather co-residence merely increased the likelihood of parent-private coparenting. It also found that child’s experience of separation with mother during the last year and mother’s employment were two key determinants of coparenting behavior in Chinese families. Findings suggest that co-residing grandparents, particularly grandmothers, may function as a kind of supplementary care resource in response to the lack of maternal childcare resulted from migration and labor force participation.