Abstract

SCHMIDT, Beatriz; SCHNEIDER, Maitê; LOPES, Rita de Cássia Sobreira  and  PICCININI, Cesar Augusto. Co-Parenting with 24-Month-Old Children: A Qualitative Study. Av. Psicol. Latinoam. [online]. 2022, vol.40, n.2, 3.  Epub June 28, 2023. ISSN 1794-4724.  https://doi.org/10.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/apl/a.8661.

The current study aimed to investigate co-parenting in children of 24 months of age. It was a qualitative study in which the participants were 10 nuclear families, each with an only child. The mother and father attended an interview about their experience of maternity and paternity, respectively. These interviews were examined using the deductive thematic analysis, considering the component themes of Feinberg's co-parenting model: division of labor, childrearing agreement, support versus undermining, and joint family management. The results revealed that essential childcare and household chores were predominantly under maternal responsibility, while paternal involvement was mainly in leisure activities such as play and strolls. Reports on satisfaction regarding the division of labor were predominant. Concerning the childrearing agreement, the participants particularly emphasized the challenges of negotiating and setting appropriate limits for the child at 24 months, aiming to promote new skills and self-regulation in the toddlers, as well as to prevent accidents. Reports of support and undermining coexisted in the families. Thus, respect of one parent for the contributions of the other, admiration and sustaining of authority, on the one hand, and blaming, criticism, and competition between mother and father, on the other, were evidenced. Regarding joint family management, there was a predominance of constructive strategies for conflict resolution with an emphasis on conversations between parents. Rewarding and challenging aspects of co-parenting at 24 months of age are discussed, highlighting the normative stressors at this stage of child development and the potential of parents to cope with them cooperatively.

Keywords : Co-parenting; family relations; childhood development.

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