Care Study: The Dependent-Care Relationship

Abstract

Jonathon is a talkative and active two-and-a-half-year-old. He lives with his parents, Heather and Norman, and his 15-month-old brother, Bob, in a four-bedroomed house in the Midlands. His mother works three days a week as an occupational therapist at a local hospital, while his father teaches at the local school. The family have a comfortable existence; Jonathon and Bob each have their own bedroom and there is a separate toy room to play in when they cannot go outside. When Heather is at work, both Jonathon and Bob are cared for at a crèche run by the hospital where Heather works. Going to the crèche is the first time that Jonathon and or Bob have been away from their parents, and so far, apart from a few tears when Heather leaves, the boys are enjoying themselves. They have never spent the night away from home without their parents. Unfortunately, their only other relative is Norman’s ageing mother, who is unable to travel or to manage the two boys by herself.