This thesis examines which challenges parents, who have chosen in-home child care, experience in our present society which is characterized as a performance society (meritocracy), a high-speed society and a working society.

The thesis contains an examination of the conditions for recognition that the parents are met with as well as an examination of their identity development. Subsequently, it is examined how the three above-mentioned characteristics of the present society influence the parents’ conditions for recognition and their identity development. The examination is carried out qualitatively where five parents, who have chosen in-home child care, have been interviewed.

My interest for this subject originates from my own experiences with a short period of doing in-home child care and an experience with lack of understanding and recognition from my surroundings. Through the elective course Social Pathologies on the Master’s degree program in Social work I acquired knowledge on the above-mentioned characteristics of the present society an how they influence on the conditions for recognition. Furthermore, according to Statistics Denmark we are currently experiencing a significant increase in the number of parents who choose in-home child care and this increase may be a result of the significant focus on children’s well-being in day care facilities which was set out during the spring of 2019.

The conclusion is, that parents, who chose in-home child care, experience difficult conditions for recognition, especially in relation to the esteem-sphere. This results in social struggles both on an individual level and on a collective level. The reason for the lack of recognition may be that a lifestyle as a parent, who have chosen in-home child care, is not consistent with the general demand for performance and acceleration in performance society (meritocracy) and the high-speed society. The lack of recognition causes that the parents experience difficulties with developing a coherent identity as they often tend to avoid mentioning their choice of in-home child care when they meet new people. They try to manage the difficulties by turning to other activities, such as volunteering and stock trading, in order to have something to talk to other people about other than in-home child care. Furthermore, it appears that parents, who have chosen in-home child care, often feel stigmatized by their surroundings and as a result they have a tendency to search for communities with other parents, who have chosen in-home child care, in which they can share norms and values.