子育てをめぐる「家族の境界」と子育て支援NPOの取り組み

──横浜市港北区の事例から──

抄録

　It has been pointed out that resistance to non-family members’ entering the home is substantial, that is to say, the “Boundaries of Family” are strong in Japan. In this paper, I have examined the mechanism of how non-family members enter a home and support childcare, and whether or not the mother’s sense of resistance is actually softened by the mechanism. The data for this paper was collected from interview surveys from a case involving the childcare support non-profit oganization, NPO ”Y”, in Kohoku District, Yokohama City. “Y” operates a “home visit service” whereby students visit the home in which children are brought up.

　The survey analysis highlighted the polite and careful coordination between the home and students conducted by the NPO, which played an important role in mitigating boundaries and enabling the students to visit the home and support childcare.

　The mother’s sense of resistance varies and can be classified into four types. The first type of resistance is to non-family members entering the home. The second type stems from anxiety that her children will cause problems for the students. The third type is resistance to students who lack child-nurturing experience. The last type is the husband’s resistance. Though the first and the second types of resistance have been eased through these services, the third and the fourth ones have not necessarily been eased. In particular, the fourth one is a formidable barrier when we make the “Boundaries of Family” weakened, and make childcare opened up to the community. A childcare support system in a community, however, meets various types of resistance, and at the same time it is an area where latent needs exist. That is why, we should consider every possible way of continuing the childcare support system involving NPOs and the wider community.