‘We Call It the Square Au Pair’. Exploring Working Mothers’ Experiences of Using Digital Devices as ‘Babysitters’

McAuley, Kay ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0453-9778 (2025) ‘We Call It the Square Au Pair’. Exploring Working Mothers’ Experiences of Using Digital Devices as ‘Babysitters’. Journal of Family Issues, 46 (7). pp. 1111-1131. ISSN 1552-5481

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Abstract

Working mothers balance childcare, work and household responsibilities whilst navigating a time of unprecedented digital innovation. Minimal guidance is available on managing devices, like tablets or smartphones, with their children. Devices can afford mothers time with prior research reporting devices being used as ‘babysitters’. This UK study presents an in-depth account of working mother’s experiences using devices as ‘babysitters’ with their 5–6-year-old children. Results are considered in relation to relevant literature exploring mothers’ constructions of the ‘good mother’. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) provides a richer picture of lived experience and mean-making, missing from the literature. Two super-ordinate themes are presented: ‘Control’ and ‘Who am I as a mother in this new world?’ The research found mothers still felt accountable to the intensive mothering ideology adding further challenges to device as ‘babysitter’. This study adds depth to the existing knowledge base and can be used to inform guidance and aid development of appropriate services.