Coping with Parents’ Work Migration in China: The Stress and Adjustment of Children Who Got Left-Behind

Abstract

Growing attention has been drawn to the well-being of left-behind children in rural China, whose parents (one or both) migrate for work for a prolonged period of time. In this chapter, we briefly review recent findings on left-behind children’s experiences of stress and adjustment with their parents’ work migration and factors associated with their adjustment. We also review children’s performances in classrooms and discuss implications especially for those under the age of eight. Extant equivocal findings on left-behind children’s socioemotional and academic adjustment suggest that parents’ work migration can bring both negative and positive changes to children’s lives. Factors such as the nature of parental migration, children’s social and family factors, and their individual characteristics can play a role in children’s adjustment. In this context, preschool teachers, teacher educators, and related professionals can provide vital support to facilitate left-behind children’s development. Additional research-based recommendations are provided for early childhood teachers who work with children who are left behind by their parents.