Going above and beyond? How parent–daycare mobile communication reconfigures the time and space dimensions of parenting

Abstract

How does the use of parent–daycare mobile communication applications reconfigure the emplacement and timing of parenting? In what ways, if any, do parents’ practices challenge the distinction between warm care and cold technology? Based on 35 interviews with 18 parents, we identified 4 ways in which Aula, Denmark's parent–daycare app, reconfigures the time-space dimensions of parenting. While parents and children are apart, mobile communication via Aula allows parents to “plan ahead,” and “synchronize” expectations and schedules with those of their children and the daycare center and “look back” on their children's time away. In addition, communication via Aula enhances co-presence. Overall, this paper's findings offer an alternative to views that oppose technology and care, showing how mobile communication may reshape responsibility for childcare in the welfare state.