Priority and Choice of Double Responsibilities of Childcare and Older Adult Care

Abstract

The overlapping period of childrearing and older adult care has not only insufficiently studied as a social and demographic phenomenon but also in adequately considered as a social policy. Futhermore, how care for children and parents is simultaneously experienced has been a blind spot in the sociology of care in Japan. The repercussions of inefficiencies and inadequacies in modern social policies targeting specific demographics, such as shortcomings in childcare, caregiving, and medical services, are concentrated in double care. This includes insufficient individual systems, inefficient system operations （e. g., lack of coordination and flexibility between different systems, making them less user-friendly）, and a lack of policies encompassing childcare and caregiving （e. g., limited availability of comprehensive consultation services for caregiving households）. It is necessary to decipher the difficulties and conflicts in the “prioritization” and “choices” of double carers with an understanding of these issues. Amidst such difficulties and conflicts, double carers across the country have become active agents, forming networks of stakeholders in their communities and on social media platforms, thereby producing collective wisdom.