They are also Parents They Are Also Parents - A Study on Migrant Workers | Page 28

CCR CSR | A Study on Migrant Workers with Left-behind Children in China | August 2013
CCR CSR | A Study on Migrant Workers with Left-behind Children in China | August 2013
help, the parents “were never around.” They also complained of spending
Figure 13: Reasons that children of migrant workers think their parents are inadequate
very little time together, which meant that there was “no real emotional
70%
connection.”
60%
For left-behind children, a sense of longing or missing their parents was the
50%
primary problem; on the other hand, migrant children said they longed for
40%
their parents to understand them. However, most of the parents interviewed
have never considered the children’s experience, feelings or perspective. 30%
Figure 12: Migrant workers and their role as parents 20%
Area
PRD
Chongqing
Status
are/will be a good parent
are/will be no/will not be
Migrant workers with left-
behind children 14% 86%
Migrant workers with
children 49% 51%
Young workers 75% 25%
Migrant workers with left
behind children 26% 74%
Migrant workers with
children 45% 55%
Young workers 73% 27%
10%
0%
We spend very little time
together, there's no real
emotional connection
between us They ignore the
needs of their
children
67% 54% 45%
43% 34% 51%
They did not live up
to a promise they
make When their child
needs their help
they are not around When their child
missed them they
are not around
Parents of left-behind
children 28% 61% Parents of migrant
children 33% 39%
Prospects for settling in the city and children’s career choice
Nearly 90% of migrant workers hope that their children will be able to stay in
the city, due to opportunities for better life and personal growth, as well as,
in some cases, a chance to escape the hardships of life as a farmer. However,
only a third said they were confident that their children would actually be able
to settle in the city. Almost half of those asked said they were not sure. Partly
Almost all migrant workers interviewed (close to 90%) thought the children as a result of effective government policies (described in Section I) and their
should be with their parents, either because it ensured their healthy own initiative, migrant workers in Chongqing felt more confident about their
development, allowed for guidance in education or helped to guarantee their children’s prospects in the city.
safety. The few workers that felt otherwise, said that they wanted to have
children by their side, but didn’t have the means to do so and felt helpless as Only 12% of interviewed workers stated they did not want their children to
a result. remain in the city. The main reasons were that opportunities in rural China
are increasing (36%), while the urban environment was unhealthy (30%), the
Fourteen-year-old left-behind child Xiao Yuan says, “When I miss them, I look
housing unaffordable (26%), and life in general too exhausting (25%).
up at the sky and I think about something that we’ve done together in the
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past. But I don’t tell mum and dad, because I don’t think it would make any There were also several larger trends in terms of career preference for
difference to them if they knew or not”. After saying this, Xiao Yuan fell silent. the workers’ children. Migrant workers with urban household registrations
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